The asymmetric neck and shoulder decoration on this woman's tunic is composed of bands of patterned red and gold silk from India. Each strip was carefully teased into an arc shape as it was sewn onto the tunic. The section forming the collar is evenly gathered. This effect was achieved by inserting stiffeners secured by rows of stitching. The configuration of this applied decoration denotes that the wearer was a married woman. There are no fastenings to this tunic; the inflexible nature of the ruched neck prevents it from falling open.

The tunic came into the Museum as part of a set with a magenta pink coat, green trousers, red waistcoat, scarlet leather leggings, a tasselled hat and silver and coral plait decorations. George Sherriff (1898-1967), the renowned plant hunter who donated them to the Museum, recorded that he acquired them in Khotan, a town in today's Xinjiang Region of China. The likelihood is that the original wearer was from an ethnic group that today would be categorized as 'Uygur'.