Panel (Furnishing Fabric) Possibly 1644 - 1911

This furnishing fabric was likely created in China for the Manchu aristocracy, and it is made of silk with supplementary weft patterning. The silk ground, dyed a rich yellow, immediately speaks to the material’s inherent qualities of sheen and suppleness. But the real story here is the complex weaving, involving extra wefts of colored silk woven in to create the repeating motifs. The weaver would have needed considerable skill, following a precise cartoon to build up the pattern row by row. This kind of luxury textile production was intensely demanding, involving many hours of labor. So, beyond its aesthetic appeal, this panel hints at social hierarchies and the global silk trade. Appreciating the sheer work involved challenges traditional notions about "decorative" arts, inviting us to consider these objects as cultural artifacts.