Embroidery landscape inset

[Embroidery Landscape Insertion Screen]

Embroidery Landscape Insertion Screen, late Qing Dynasty, 35cm vertically and 41cm horizontally. The old collection of the Qing Palace
This inset screen displays the hierarchical and three-dimensional sense of mountains, forests, and streams based on the principle of perspective. Its needle movement has completely broken away from the limitations of traditional Chinese embroidery routines, and the needle method is no longer neat and regular. Instead, it is embroidered with stitches of different lengths and lengths mixed in a straight line. The thickness, curvature, color, and stitching of the colored silk are entirely determined by the embroiderer according to the needs of the painting, and the stitching does not need to be arranged according to the texture of the object image. The weaver skillfully utilizes the texture and luster presented by the length and arrangement of disorderly stitched silk threads to express the virtual reality of the object image. When viewed closely, this embroidery method seems to have different lengths and disorderly stitches, while when viewed from a distance, it has the effect of obscure changes in oil painting. The distant mountains, the lush and luxuriant trees, and even the mist on the rivers are all vividly displayed. This artistic expression of “simulated embroidery” was created by Shen Shou (1874-1921), an embroidery artist in the late Qing Dynasty, after investigating Japanese art education, by skillfully applying the sketch techniques of Western oil painting to traditional embroidery art, which enabled the development of traditional Chinese embroidery techniques
The bezel is decorated with beige floral brocade, with a black lacquer border and a red sandalwood inlaid multicolor mother-of-pearl socket. This combination of Chinese and Western desk furnishings is rarely seen in the handicrafts collected by the Qing court.