Fragment
1550-1700 (woven)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This piece of silk fragment, woven in three colours in the width (red, blue and yellow, now faded), has European features, such as the double-headed bird that occurs frequently in Portuguese textile designs. The colour scheme adopted in this woven pattern is also similar to that found on some Portuguese handwoven silk. However, the floral scrolls patterns bear stronger resemblance to East Asian floral scrolls, suggesting that this may have been woven by Chinese (or even Japanese) weavers for an export market.
By the second half of the 16th century, the Portuguese had succeeded in acquiring a trading base at Macau (off Canton) from the Chinese government, where trade from China and Japan passed through. It is supposed that the woven pattern here may have been made by Japanese or Chinese sojourners in Macau, according to patterns given to them to follow.
By the second half of the 16th century, the Portuguese had succeeded in acquiring a trading base at Macau (off Canton) from the Chinese government, where trade from China and Japan passed through. It is supposed that the woven pattern here may have been made by Japanese or Chinese sojourners in Macau, according to patterns given to them to follow.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk damask |
| Brief description | Textile fragment of silk damask, China, 1550-1700 |
| Physical description | Textile fragment of silk damask woven in red, blue and yellow. Possibly a Chinese weaving from a European design. Double-headed eagles are depicted beneath crowns surrounded by floral scrolls. Some of the floral devices culminate in conventionalised fir-cones. At the extremities of the floral designs birds are perched. The double-headed eagle is holding in its claws arrows which penetrate the sides of heart-shaped vases. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Acquisition method and source not identified in the Asia Department registers, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Production | Formerly attributed as woven in Macau |
| Summary | This piece of silk fragment, woven in three colours in the width (red, blue and yellow, now faded), has European features, such as the double-headed bird that occurs frequently in Portuguese textile designs. The colour scheme adopted in this woven pattern is also similar to that found on some Portuguese handwoven silk. However, the floral scrolls patterns bear stronger resemblance to East Asian floral scrolls, suggesting that this may have been woven by Chinese (or even Japanese) weavers for an export market. By the second half of the 16th century, the Portuguese had succeeded in acquiring a trading base at Macau (off Canton) from the Chinese government, where trade from China and Japan passed through. It is supposed that the woven pattern here may have been made by Japanese or Chinese sojourners in Macau, according to patterns given to them to follow. |
| Bibliographic reference | G. F. Wingfield Digby, "Some Silks Woven under Portuguese Influence in the Far East", The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 77, No. 449 (Aug., 1940), pp. 52-63 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.159-1910 |
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| Record created | April 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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