The left section for the wearer of a mandarin square, or rank badge, for the front of a coat. Made with couched embroidery on a brown satin ground. It depicts a bird, one of the emblems of rank of a civil official, perhaps a silver pheasant, of the fifth rank. The back section of the bird, worked largely in silver-coloured metal-wrapped thread on a separate fabric, is applied to the ground. Surrounding the bird are four auspicious symbols, including the endless knot and the wheel of the law, a symbol of Buddhist teaching. The lower section has couched gold and silver right leaning diagonal lines. The imagery is framed with spirals interlinked with a fret pattern. The textile is lined with a tabby woven blue silk.
