Classic Design: Furniture, Clocks, Silver & Ceramics
Classic Design: Furniture, Clocks, Silver & Ceramics
Two Chinese Silk Embroidered Hangings, Guangzhou (Canton), for the Western Export Market, Qing Dynasty, early 19th century
Lot Closed
May 23, 01:29 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Two Chinese Silk Embroidered Hangings, Guangzhou (Canton), for the Western Export Market, Qing Dynasty, early 19th century
embroidered in floss silk threads, in a combination of bright and subtle shades of corals, vermillion, burnt orange, pinks, greens, blues, brown, black and ivory, mainly in long and short stitch with some Cantonese knot highlights worked with thick floss silks, on a light ivory coloured silk ground, the design depicting a central column and various birds and baskets of flowers or fruit, the panels are not the same: one central support resembling a palm tree trunk with overlapping bark, the top supporting a basket of large peaches and pomegranates, a swag below with cherry branches tied with bows, further down are two more baskets the next with exuberant blossoming peonies and another of peaches and pomegranates, each with pendant ribbons to the sides supporting cornucopia filled with berries and exotic Eastern leaves or huge pomegranates and peaches, the base with similar but with exotic pods bursting with seeds, feathers and foliage, the whole column flanked with flying small and medium size pairs of birds including cockerels, and a single peacock and bullfinch, and flanked by a pair of huge strutting cranes, the column supported by three toads; the other similar panel with variations including a central stem resembling a torchere arrangement on an elaborate base, flanked by addorsed shimmering carp, without cornucopia and with extending scrolling foliage instead; each panel with a four sided trellis border entwined with ivy leaves
Both approximately 318cm. high, 134cm. wide; 10ft. 5in., 4ft. 4in. (plus some silk turned under top and bottom).
These two highly decorative hangings are of extraordinary quality embroidery. Embroidered in Guangzhou (Canton) for the western export market they are likely to have been part of a set of hangings produced as room panels for a grand and fashionable artistic house of the 1890’s or they may have been for an international exhibition. There is a similar hanging in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Acc.No. FE.1-1980: approximately 324cm by 150cm). It was most probably from the same set as the present panels. It is very similar to one of the panels here, in having the palm tree trunk with overlapping bark and the design incorporates baskets of fruit and flowers, and some different animals, including squirrels and a snake. It does not have the outer trellis border applied. The embroidery technique used on all the panels is entirely Chinese in application, but the design shows signs of Indian influence, and that of European ceramic motifs. Sau Fong Chan, V&A curator of Chinese Textiles is of the opinion that the design is based on a Western design, which was quite common for export pieces produced in Guangzhou (Canton). Sometimes Western merchants provided the same design to both Indian and Chinese craftsmen, who used different techniques to produce the products for export. The embroidered execution for the cranes and cockerel of the panel in the V&A are in typical Cantonese style (especially the knot highlight details).
Violette Thurston (1879-1978) gifted the hanging to Penryn Town Council for their museum which was being refurbished. However she died the year before given it to the museum and when they did receive it the museum found it too large and too vunerable to display and offered it to the V&A.