Physical description

Length of polychrome patterned silk. Blue background with a multicolored repeating design of interconnecting floral medallions within squares. There is a selvedge at either side of the length.
The compact nature of the material comes from the way it is woven. It has a second set of warps (longitudinal threads) to bind the design-making wefts (transverse threads). In Europe, the term lampas is used for such a weave. This term is difficult to translate into Chinsese as traditionally textiles have been classified in other ways. The Chinese term jin, an all-embracing name for any multi-coloured patterned cloth, would be the word used to describe this silk.
The weight and style of the cloth make it suitable for decorating Chinese-style book covers, and silk of this type is also used in several different ways on scroll paintings, albums of pictures and folding screens. It could also have been used as a furnishing fabric.

Place of Origin

China (made)

Date

19th century - 20th century (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown

Materials and Techniques

Woven polychrome patterened silk

Marks and inscriptions

'Te yi gong si qian men jingying guanli chu'
The Te Yi (Special Arts and Crafts) Company: Administrative & Management Department at Qianmen

'Lei bie He'
'Huo hao 39'
'Ding jia 20.00'
Classification: Passed
Item no.: 39
Price 20.00

Dimensions

Length: 192 cm, Width: 77.5 cm

Object history note

Registered File number 1965/3344.

Historical context note

This type of pattern is thought to have emerged in the tenth century although no early examples showing this particular arrangement are known. It is possible that this textile could pre-date the nineteenth century. Several pieces, reminiscent of this one although not identical to it, are in the Palace Museum in Beijing and are given a Ming dynasty date (1368-1644). other similar pieces can be traced back to the seventeenth century in Japan where this design was copied from Chinese imports.

Descriptive line

Length of silk, woven polychrome patterened silk, China, 19th 20th century

Materials

Silk (textile)

Techniques

Weaving

Subjects depicted

Medallions (ornament areas); Floral patterns; Squares (geometric figures)

Categories

Textiles

Collection

East Asia Collection