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Lot Essay
The relationship between this textile panel and that in the previous two lots is very clear. Many of the floral forms are identical, it uses the same palette, and also employs couched gold thread that forms the scrolling tendrils. In contrast to the others however only one form of phoenix appears, the one that has the cresting and the scrolling tail.
Here however the ground material on which the design is embroidered is itself a patterned silk, almost certainly of Chinese origin. The design, of fine overall flowering tendrils, is so subtle that in many lights it is not visible. The ground fabric must however have been very prized since the lower left hand edge of this has been extended with a thin band of the same original textile before the embroidery was applied. This demonstrates the same regard for these very high quality textiles that is shown by the use of small pieces to make the patchwork pillow cases seen in this collection. The embroidered design however completely ignores the design on the base silk, in no way using the underlying design to enhance the embroidered pattern. This is a tradition that can be seen in an earlier Tang dynasty Chinese weaving in the Cleveland Museum of Art whose background would have lent itself even more than here to placing the individual motifs in a related manner (James C.Y.Watt and Anne C. Wardwell, When Silk was Gold, Central Asian and Chinese Textiles, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1997, no.48, pp.168-169).
It is not possible to say how this luxurious textile was intended to be used. It may be that it was just being preserved for future use without any particularly use in mind. It is the complete width of the original roll, and it is also the final upper end of the weaving, with the design finishing at that point. It may well be what remained after the silk below had been cut off to be used.
Here however the ground material on which the design is embroidered is itself a patterned silk, almost certainly of Chinese origin. The design, of fine overall flowering tendrils, is so subtle that in many lights it is not visible. The ground fabric must however have been very prized since the lower left hand edge of this has been extended with a thin band of the same original textile before the embroidery was applied. This demonstrates the same regard for these very high quality textiles that is shown by the use of small pieces to make the patchwork pillow cases seen in this collection. The embroidered design however completely ignores the design on the base silk, in no way using the underlying design to enhance the embroidered pattern. This is a tradition that can be seen in an earlier Tang dynasty Chinese weaving in the Cleveland Museum of Art whose background would have lent itself even more than here to placing the individual motifs in a related manner (James C.Y.Watt and Anne C. Wardwell, When Silk was Gold, Central Asian and Chinese Textiles, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1997, no.48, pp.168-169).
It is not possible to say how this luxurious textile was intended to be used. It may be that it was just being preserved for future use without any particularly use in mind. It is the complete width of the original roll, and it is also the final upper end of the weaving, with the design finishing at that point. It may well be what remained after the silk below had been cut off to be used.