Edo period (1615–1868), 1675-1725
Japan
Japan
This fragment combines three different methods of patterning: weaving, dyeing, and embroidery. No single technique overpowers the others, creating a harmonious whole. While the beauty of the decoration and colors can still be appreciated in the textile’s fragmentary state, the precise meaning of the embroidered character in the center has been lost: It cannot be interpreted because it has been separated from the rest of the textile and, therefore, the rest of the text.
Silk, twill damask weave; embroidered with silk and gilded-lacquered-paper-strip-wrapped cotton in satin stitches and laid work and couching; stenciled; mounted on paper, inscribed in ink