Fukusa (Gift Cover)
1800-1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
‘The crane lives for a thousand years, and the turtle for ten thousand years’ is a well-known proverb in Japan. The turtle is therefore regarded as a symbol of longevity and the bearer of good fortune and is a popular motif on celebratory textiles. Here a very powerful-looking creature, the long trail of seaweed and algae on its back suggesting it has indeed lived for many years, decorates a fukusa, a type of textile used to cover a gift. The design is embroidered almost exclusively in gold-wrapped thread which look particularly dramatic against the dark blue ground.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk satin with embroidery in coloured silks and gold thread; lined in plain weave silk |
| Brief description | Fukusa (gift cover), blue satin silk with embroidery in coloured silk and gold-wrapped thread, Japan, 1800-1850 |
| Physical description | Fukusa (gift cover) of blue satin with an embroidered design of a central large tortoise swimming amid turbulent waves. The fukusa is lined with plain weave blue silk, probably a later addition. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs J Douglas Watson |
| Object history | Registered File number 1972/1886 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | ‘The crane lives for a thousand years, and the turtle for ten thousand years’ is a well-known proverb in Japan. The turtle is therefore regarded as a symbol of longevity and the bearer of good fortune and is a popular motif on celebratory textiles. Here a very powerful-looking creature, the long trail of seaweed and algae on its back suggesting it has indeed lived for many years, decorates a fukusa, a type of textile used to cover a gift. The design is embroidered almost exclusively in gold-wrapped thread which look particularly dramatic against the dark blue ground. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.20-1973 |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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