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Unknown Maker, Chinese

Table frontal

Maker

Unknown Maker, Chinese

Culture

Chinese

Title

Table frontal

Year

late 1800s-early 1900s

Medium

  • silk,
  • metallic-wrapped yarn; satin weave,
  • embroidered

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Silk,
  • metallic-wrapped yarn; satin weave,
  • embroidered

Materials

silk, metallic yarn

Geography

Place Made: China

Dimensions

90.8 x 185.4 cm (35 3/4 x 73 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Marshall H. Gould

Object Number

46.191A

Type

  • Textiles

Exhibition History

From the Land of the Immortals
Chinese Taoist Robes and Textiles
Jan 13, 2012 – Apr 22, 2012

Label copy

This red satin cloth with vibrant gold-wrapped yarn embroidery is filled with auspicious imagery and would have been used as a frontal for an altar table. Though

the iconography suggests a Taoist context, this frontal may have been used for ancestral rituals as well.

Two roundels framed by peach branches contain two cranes each. The birds hold counting sticks in their beaks and fly toward a pavilion by the sea. This scene refers to the tale of Taoist sages who counted their age in terms of epochs, not years, and would add a counting stick to a pile to mark each epoch of man. The pavilion represents a Taoist paradise, while the peach branches and cranes represent longevity.

Above, six smaller roundels alternately depict the “three happinesses” (peach, pomegranate, and Buddha’s hand citron) or a bat with a ruyi scepter (which together symbolize the sentiment “May you have every joy and happiness as you wish”). Below are symbols of the mountain and the cosmic waters with floating dragon fish.

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Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Chinese
Table frontal, late 1800s-early 1900s
Silk, metallic-wrapped yarn; satin weave, embroidered
90.8 x 185.4 cm (35 3/4 x 73 inches)
Gift of Marshall H. Gould 46.191A

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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