Yellow tapestry, phoenix perched on wutong tree, round fan

[Yellow tapestry with phoenix perching on wutong]

Yellow tapestry with phoenix perching on wutong with a round fan, clear, 49 cm long and 33.5 cm wide
The palace fan is of tung leaf type. The fan is carved on the yellow ground into a wutong, a phoenix is independent of the tree trunk, and peonies bloom beside the lake rocks. The fan is equipped with a square rosewood handle, engraved with the word “Shou” and painted with gold, and inlaid with ivory at both ends, which is yellow silk. This fan is a double-sided tapestry, with natural and soft color matching and meticulous tapestry
Kesi is one of the traditional Chinese silk weaving crafts with a long history. It originated no later than the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, tapestry, imperial poetry, calligraphy and painting, Buddhist scriptures, and clothing were very popular, and the technology had a great development compared with the previous generation. One of them was the creation of double-sided “through tapestry” technology, which made the patterns on both sides of the fabric the same, and the lines clear and flat, especially suitable for the use of decorative screens and fans. A large number of round fans in the palace used the “through tapestry” technology. Due to the complexity of the tapestry process, a successful work requires more manpower and material resources than ordinary people can afford, so there is a saying of “one inch of tapestry is one inch of gold”, which shows the luxury of the life of the imperial concubine in the palace