A finely woven silk kesi 'Three Friends of Winter' panel, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 緙絲歲寒三友圖

Geng Zhi Tang Collection.

耕織堂收藏

Kesi, silk tapestry, is a complex type of tabby weave used for colorful images that flourished in Chinese culture. By discontinuing weft threads instead of letting them run the whole width of the fabric, colors could be woven in exactly where the design required. This technique provides the weaver enormous freedom in designing color decoration, which made it possible to weave textile pictures as fine as ink paintings.

The tapestry technique had been in use in Central Asia since as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), but for woollen fabrics. Silk tapestry became popular in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) and by the Song dynasty (960-1279), kesi weavers began to reproduce ink paintings, see a Southern Song (1127-1279) example, illustrated in Zhao Feng, Zhi xiu zhen pin / Treasures in Silk, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 00.24, p. 34.

The subject of this panel is a very traditional theme, the 'Three Friends of Winter' (sui han san you). The Three Friends, namely pine, bamboo and plum, all signify longevity and are symbolizing the qualities of steadfastness, integrity and flexibility, and endurance in adversities, respectively.

The tapestry is mounted on the back with two ink inscriptions. The inscriptions suggest that the tapestry belonged to Baron Honjō Shigeru (1876-1945), General of the Japanese army, while Manchuria was under Japanese control. The first inscription contains a poem about the tapestry that mentions the General's love of the 'Three Friends of Winter' motif, signed by and bearing the seals of Shen Ruilin (1874-1945), and is dated in accordance with 1935, when Shen was a high official of the Manchukuo state, under Pu Yi as Emperor. The second inscription, also dated to 1935, is signed Baoxi (1871-1942), another high politician at the Manchukuo regime, who – like Pu Yi – belonged to the imperial Manchu Aisin Gioro clan. It also comments on the tapestry and relates that the comment was written at the invitation of Honjō Shigeru. Both Shen and Baoxi were renowned for their calligraphy, and their works are still collected in their own right.

Compare a related panel with a scene depicting plum blossom, orchid and chrysanthemum, illustrated in Jinxiu luoyi qiao tiangong / Heavens' Embroidered Cloths. One Thousand Years of Chinese Textiles, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 12; also a panel with a bird-and-flower scene in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Gugong zhixiu xuancui / Masterpieces of Chinese Silk Tapestry and Embroidery in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1998, pl. 24.

緙絲，絲綢織品，織法繁複，成品色彩斑斕，精彩紛呈，歷代佳品層出。緙絲織法通經斷緯，將彩絲穿梭於經線之間，緯線並不橫貫全幅，因而可按紋飾圖案準確使用不同色彩。如此技術令織匠設計色彩自由度極高，所織成圖案細緻入微如水墨畫作。

緙絲技術早在漢代就見於中亞，但僅限於毛織品。絲織品流行於唐朝，時至宋代，緙絲織工開始按仿緻水墨畫，參考南宋作例，載於趙豐，《織綉珍品》，香港，1999年，圖版00.24，頁34。

本品以歲寒三友傳統紋飾為主題，歲寒三友即松、竹、梅，除寓意高壽之外，亦像徵正直堅忍、高風亮節等超群品格。

此副緻圖背附兩則水墨題款，表明此軸曾屬日本將軍本庄繁男爵（1876-1945年）收藏，當時正值日本控制滿洲地區。第一首題詩提及本庄繁喜愛歲寒三友，沈瑞麟（1874-1945年）署款，並蓋鈐印，年款等同西歷 1935年，溥儀當時為滿洲國皇帝，沈瑞麟任滿洲國要員。第二道題款署於同一年，署款者寶熙（1871-1942年）亦於滿洲國擔任要員。寶熙與溥儀同姓愛新覺羅。題款評論此緙絲立軸，並稱該題款乃應本庄繁邀請而撰。沈瑞麟及寶熙均以書法聞名，至今書法作品仍受藏家珍重。

比較一例，梅蘭菊花紋飾，載於《錦繡羅衣巧天工》，香港，1995年，編號12。另比一例，花鳥紋飾，台北故宮博物院收藏，載於《故宮織綉選萃》，台北：1998年，圖版24。