Chinese textiles / Verity Wilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wilson, Verity, 1947-

Contributor:

Victoria and Albert Museum.

Series:

Far Eastern series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Textile fabrics--China.

Textile fabrics.

China.

Textile fabrics--China--Pictorial works.

Genre:

Pictorial works.

Illustrated works.

Physical Description:

128 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

London : V & A ; New York : Distributed in North America by Harry N. Abrams, 2005.

Summary:

This book tells many stories of Chinese life and legend through the sumptuous textiles that adorn its pages. It also shows how their visual brilliance and impressive workmanship were part of their allure for the Europeans who collected them and added their own stories to them.

All the Chinese textiles in the V&A originally had a specific purpose, and it is those created for celebrations that dominate the selection in this book. Many pieces were made for birthdays and weddings, the latter providing occasions for splendid robes, palanquin hangings, quilts and bed curtains: several bear 'pictures of a hundred boys', expressing the fervent wish for sons to carry on the family line. The Chinese reverence for age gives birthdays an added significance and inspired scenes of filial piety embroidered on scrolls and silk wall panels. Ceremonial textiles include cushions emblazoned with dragons to furnish the halls of imperial palaces, and banners and pictures depicting religious icons or dramatic exploits from antiquity, once used to decorate temples.

Verity Wilson focuses on more than a hundred of the V&A's most significant examples, almost none of them on permanent display. Although some are redolent of imperial China, the book also includes a large selection of pieces made after the fall of the Chinese empire in 1911 and on through the communist era. The painstaking techniques used to create the textiles, and the conditions surrounding their manufacture, are described in detail. Those who donated and sold Chinese textiles to the V&A also have a place in this book. The superb specially commissioned photography enables us to savour China's textile traditions in all their richness and diversity.

Contents:

1 Setting the Scene: Chinese Textiles in London 6

2 Chinese Textiles As Trade Goods 18

3 Chinese Textiles for Interior Decoration 38

4 Chinese Textiles for Special Occasions 56

5 Chinese Textiles for Clothing 76

6 'Is It All Done By Hand?' - Chinese Textiles and Production 96

7 Collectors, Donors and Dealers 110.

Notes:

"Victoria & Albert Museum."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 120-125) and index.

ISBN:

1851774386

OCLC:

60741504