Embroidered Panels with Design of the Chinese Characters for “Longevity” and “Good Fortune” 18th-19th century
anonymous
minneapolisinstituteofart
panel, textile
natural stone pattern
wood texture
toned paper
panel
water colours
pottery
textile
tile art
stoneware
wooden interior design
wooden texture
watercolor
This pair of embroidered panels from the 18th-19th century features a densely patterned design of repeating Chinese characters. The characters, executed in various shades of gold, pink, and blue, are embroidered onto a pale blue background. The panels, which may have originally been part of a larger hanging, are a striking example of Chinese textile art, representing the importance of good fortune and longevity in Chinese culture. The artwork is currently housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
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Each of these six panels features twenty-four Chinese characters, alternating between the characters for “longevity” (壽) and “good fortune” (福). The characters, embroidered in gold thread on a light-blue ground, represent a wide variety of scripts. Some are traditional, while others are less orthodox, including characters whose brushstrokes are formed by stylized bamboo, fish, or birds. These panels—probably from a set of eight or ten panels mounted individually or as a folding screen—would have been used as an auspicious backdrop for a sixtieth birthday celebration. The sixtieth year (called hwangap in Korean), marking one’s survival through a full sexagenary cycle (the twelve-pronged, sixty-year zodiac calendar), receives special commemoration in many cultures within the Chinese cultural sphere, even today.
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