Chinese Textiles: Embroidery
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Textile Fragment, Gauze weave with embroidery; design of a floral arabesque and children on a red ground (detail), Ming dynasty, 14th–15th century
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 5
July 3, 2018 (Tue) - September 30, 2018 (Sun)In China, embroidery with silk thread and fabric was standard. Specific techniques, the texture of the thread, and the way color was used, however, changed over time, giving embroidery from different historical period unique qualities. While certain techniques such as the “couching stitch” (in which thread is tied down to the fabric with loops of thinner thread) and “outline stitch” (for making lines of varying thicknesses) were used through the ages, others were particular to a specific time. One such example is a technique that gives the embroidered pattern a “net-like” appearance; it was popular in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) but later fell into disuse. Another appealing quality of embroidery is the ability to create various textures as well as thick patterns with a three-dimensional appearance by combining different techniques.
This exhibition shows the beauty and variety of Chinese embroidery, displaying decorative accessories that enriched people’s lives, with a focus on embroidered works from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1369–1912).
Current exhibit includes:
Altar Cloth, Flowering plant design in needle-looped embroidery on a stitched multicolor damask ground, Ming dynasty, 16th century
Textile Fragment, Gauze weave with embroidery; design of a floral arabesque and children on a red ground, Ming dynasty, 14th–15th century