Item number: M227

Year: AD 1905-1912

Material: Brass

Size: Big 23.5 x 23.5 x 14.5 / Middle 19.3 x 19.3 x 11.8 / Small 15.9 x 15.9 x 10.4 mm

Weight: Big 3.15 / Middle 2.25 / Small 1.55 g

Provenance: Private Collector, Singapore, 2023

These are three differently sized lounge suit buttons for officers from the 1905 style. Unlike the plain brass buttons used by enlisted soldiers, the officers’ lounge suit buttons are adorned with a five-clawed dragon, symbolising the Qing Empire, with a fireball emerging from its mouth.

The Qing Empire’s adoption of Western-style military uniforms dates to the Taiping Rebellion, influenced by the “Ever Victorious Army” formed by the American Frederick Townsend Ward. This led to the hiring of foreign instructors to introduce Western drills, equipment, and uniforms. In AD 1885, Li Hongzhang established the Peiyang Military Academy, hiring German instructors and adopting German-style uniforms, which became the model for the Qing Empire’s army.

In December AD 1895, Yuan Shikai began the establishment of the “New Army” at Xiaozhan in Tianjin, significantly impacting modern Chinese politics with the emergence of the Beiyang Army. This new force was divided into five branches: infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineering, and logistics. In September AD 1904, based on the Beiyang Army, the Qing court formulated the “Military Uniform Regulations,” drawing on feedback from the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War to introduce the “1905-style military uniform.”

The Beiyang military officers’ uniforms were categorized into three types: lounge suit, formal dress, and regular cloth. The black lounge suit was worn for court audiences and official visits, while the formal dress was in sky blue. The regular cloth uniforms varied with the seasons: dark blue for winter and earthy yellow for summer, always accompanied by a black forage cap.

物件編號: M227

年代: 公元 1905-1912 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 大 23.5 x 23.5 x 14.5 / 中 19.3 x 19.3 x 11.8 / 小 15.9 x 15.9 x 10.4 mm

重量: 大 3.15 / 中 2.25 / 小 1.55 g

來源: 新加坡私人收藏 2023

這是三枚尺寸不同的1905年式軍官大禮服鈕扣，不同於基層士兵使用素色黃銅鈕扣，軍官穿戴的大禮服鈕扣裝飾象徵清帝國的五爪蟠龍，口中吐著一粒火球。

清帝國使用西式軍裝的歷史，源於太平天國時期受美國人華爾組成的「常勝軍」刺激，相繼聘請洋人擔任教官引進西式兵操、裝備和制服。公元1885年，李鴻章在天津建立北洋武備學堂，聘請德國教官和採納德式制服，德式制服就此成為清帝國陸軍的師法對象。

公元1895年12月，袁世凱在天津小站展開「新式陸軍」建軍，深切影響中國近代政壇的北洋新軍就此登上舞台，分為：步、騎、炮、工程和錙重五個兵種。公元1904年9月，清廷以北洋新軍為基礎制定《軍服制略》，就布爾戰爭和日俄戰爭的即時回饋推出「1905式軍服」。

北洋軍官服裝分為大禮服、禮服和常服三種。黑色大禮服為朝覲公謁穿戴，禮服為天青色。常服依照季節差異，冬季為深藍色，夏季為土黃色，一律配黑色操練帽。