Period:Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Date:late 17th–early 18th century Culture:China Medium:Silk embroidery on silk gauze Dimensions:Sight: 49 3/8 x 26 3/4 in. (125.4 x 67.9 cm) Classification:Textiles-Embroidered Credit Line:Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome A. Straka Gift and Rogers Fund, 1973 Accession Number:1973.8 Embroidery is an excellent medium for rendering the sheen of flower petals and the glossiness of leaves, and because of its labor intensiveness, it was sometimes considered more expensive and desirable than painting. Flowers and plants are popular themes in Chinese art and most have auspicious meanings. Here, the combination of magnolia, crabapple blossom, and tree peony implies “fortune at a jade hall” (yu tang fu gui).
Period:Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Date:late 17th–early 18th century Culture:China Medium:Silk embroidery on silk gauze Dimensions:Sight: 49 3/8 x 26 3/4 in. (125.4 x 67.9 cm) Classification:Textiles-Embroidered Credit Line:Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome A. Straka Gift and Rogers Fund, 1973 Accession Number:1973.8 Embroidery is an excellent medium for rendering the sheen of flower petals and the glossiness of leaves, and because of its labor intensiveness, it was sometimes considered more expensive and desirable than painting. Flowers and plants are popular themes in Chinese art and most have auspicious meanings. Here, the combination of magnolia, crabapple blossom, and tree peony implies “fortune at a jade hall” (yu tang fu gui).