Manchu man’s semiformal court robe, About 1875. Woven silk and metal thread tapestry with painted details. length: 55 in, 139.7 cm; width: 84 in, 213.36 cm. Neusteter Textile Collection: Gift of james P. Grant & Betty Grant Austin, 1977.197 © Denver Art Museum

Dragons, bats, and clouds appear in a sky extensively patterned with a gold grid. The four ruyi, or three-lobed forms that create a border around each small floral motif, say "may your wishes come true in the four directions." The swastikas in the alternating compartments multiply the wish ten thousandfold. The Eight Buddhist Precious Things--a canopy, a conch shell, a vase, a royal parasol, a wheel, an endless knot, a lotus, and a double fish--are woven into the waves and on the body of the robe.