246 | Jade Chrysalis
FILED UNDER: THE CHRYSANTHEMUM PARLOUR
Recovered from the Chrysanthemum Parlour, beneath the eastern dressing screen. No accompanying record or owner identified. Fabric undamaged; several dried petals found caught in the waist ties.
SHELL
Reclaimed qipao of celadon silk; a lustrous weave patterned with pastel chrysanthemums that shift in the light. A subtle aged patina. Era 1990s.
LINING
Crisp, undyed cotton.
DETAILING
Finished with a double trim and tasseled sides that offer a quiet, tactile weight. Includes a matching mandarin-style choker to complete the silhouette.
LACING
Softly bouncing cream ribbon through reinforced silver-tone grommets.
STRUCTURE
19-panel construction reinforced with synthetic whalebone. Cinches the waist and visually widens the hips and chest.
SIZE
Upper S to M [size guide]
FIT NOTES
Cut with additional room through the bust and a comparatively narrow waist. Best suited to a fuller bust-to-waist proportion.
EDITION
One of one.
FROM THE CITY ARCHIVES
The Chrysanthemum Parlour
Jade Chrysalis was recorded among the garments kept in the Chrysanthemum Parlour, a private room once used for receiving guests, arranging flowers, and dressing for afternoon visits. The Parlour took its name from the chrysanthemums cultivated in its enclosed garden, whose blooms were brought indoors throughout the changing seasons.
Pieces associated with the room are unusually delicate in character. Pale silks, embroidered flowers, jade-coloured ornaments, and small hand-worked fastenings occur repeatedly in the surviving records. Jade Chrysalis appears to have belonged to this tradition of dress, though no definitive owner has been established.
The original arrangement of the garment suggests that it was worn for the Parlour rather than merely stored there. Beyond this, the archive remains uncertain. The Chrysanthemum Parlour was later sealed, and much of what was kept within it was dispersed before a proper inventory could be made.
