Panel
Object name
Date made
19th century
Place made
Description
A panel made up of a mixture of embroidered parts, including sleevebands and decorative borders, from 19th-century Chinese women's garments.
Content description
This panel is made up of various parts of Chinese women's dress, likely all dating to the 19th century, sewn together. In the centre is a pair of sleevebands embroidered with plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, peonies, lotuses, orchids, and peaches. These flowers, fruits, and their leaves are worked in satin stitches, long and short stitches, and Chinese knots in pink, red, white, blue, and green silk threads on a blue silk ground. Some of the flower petals are bordered by couched down threads. Bordering the sleevebands are two woven borders showing pairs of stags flanking trees.
The sleevebands are sewn on their long sides to two decorative borders which would have originally been part of a woman's robe. The bands are black silk with blue and white silk threads worked in satin and long and short stitches to create undulating floral motifs and butterflies. On the sleevebands' short side, in between the ends of the decorative borders, are two other decorative borders or bands. They are made of white silk and feature trees, butterflies, and stags with and without antlers, all worked in loose Chinese knots in blue, yellow, brown, white, and peach silk threads. These narrow bands are symmetrical. This arrangement of different panels is backed by a single piece of blue silk.
Embroidered sleevebands such as the ones seen here were made to be sewn onto the sleeves of Chinese women's robes during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). These items of haberdashery often include standalone motifs like birds or flowers, idealised landscapes, or depictions of popular Chinese tales.
The sleevebands are sewn on their long sides to two decorative borders which would have originally been part of a woman's robe. The bands are black silk with blue and white silk threads worked in satin and long and short stitches to create undulating floral motifs and butterflies. On the sleevebands' short side, in between the ends of the decorative borders, are two other decorative borders or bands. They are made of white silk and feature trees, butterflies, and stags with and without antlers, all worked in loose Chinese knots in blue, yellow, brown, white, and peach silk threads. These narrow bands are symmetrical. This arrangement of different panels is backed by a single piece of blue silk.
Embroidered sleevebands such as the ones seen here were made to be sewn onto the sleeves of Chinese women's robes during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). These items of haberdashery often include standalone motifs like birds or flowers, idealised landscapes, or depictions of popular Chinese tales.
Dimensions
width: 94.5cm
height: 33cm
height: 33cm
Materials
Stitches
Techniques
Motifs
Catalogue number
COL.19
Other numbers
RSN 42
© Royal School of Needlework