A collection of a broad range of Chinese silks on display

Golden pheasant on a loquat tree

Pictorial Chinese silks

The exhibition Pictorial Silks shows stunning examples of Chinese silk textiles, embroidery and tapestry.

Gathering of immortals, 18th century, Kesi (Silk tapestry) with metallic threads, hanging scroll

The works are from the collection of the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong.

The UMAG’s silk textile collection dates from the Qing dynasty to the mid-twentieth century.

Qing dynasty textiles

The collection encompasses a diverse range of subjects and formats that include hanging scrolls, framed panels, banners and robes.

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A broad range of these selected for display exemplifies the sophisticated craftsmanship of the artisans and the collective stories of the Qing dynasty’s textile industry.

Kingfishers and hibiscuses

The history of silk in China began in the Neolithic period, and remained intrinsically linked with the art, culture and commerce of Chinese society.

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Silk became highly prized by Chinese and foreign merchants as an essential commodity along a vast trade network.

Ancient Silk Road

As one of the most important exported goods, along with tea and ceramics, silk products were exported to markets across Asia and Europe along the ancient Silk Road.  

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For a long time, even after silk was exported to other lands, China dominated silk production.

Chinese Silk served multiple roles

The importance of silk was more than as a commodity. It served multiple roles and purposes.

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Silk was primarily used as fabric and threads for making exquisite and luxurious garments for the elite and royalty. To be dressed in silk fabrics was synonymous with beauty and high social class.

A form of currency

However, its fabulous value also enabled it as a form of currency and a method of tax payment.

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Over the centuries, silk was a medium and subject matter for professional artists and the literati class.

Longevity banner commemorating the 70th birthday of Xu Yingkui (detail)

The subject of sericulture, the cultivation of silk, becomes entwined with Chinese art history and literature.

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Starting from the Song dynasty (960 -1279) and flourishing into the Qing (1644 -1911), craftsmen became skilled artisans with silk.

Exquisitely embroidered pictorial silk

They took up shuttles and needles as their brushes, and silk threads as their pigments, creating exquisitely woven and embroidered pictorial and calligraphic works on silk fabric.

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In the hands of weavers and embroiderers, weft-woven silk tapestry and embroidery evolved into an art form.

Boys at play

This art was a fusion of painting, calligraphy and hand weaving or embroidering for aesthetic appreciation.

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Embroidery thrived during the Qing dynasty, which led to the emergence of regional embroidery schools, each with its own distinctive styles.

Gathering of immortals, 18th century, Kesi (Silk tapestry) with metallic threads, hanging scroll

These academies produced exquisitely embroidered pieces of clothing and decorative hanging scrolls.

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A variety of stitches were developed over the generations for outlining patterns, shading colours, adding three-dimensionality, and representing surface textures.

4 virtues of Chinese women

Female artisans pursued the art of embroidery not only to make a living but also because it was recognised as one of the four traditional virtues of Chinese women and an essential handicraft skill.

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Members of the court and upper class favoured pictorial and calligraphic silk tapestry as gifts and luxurious furnishings.

Magu offering wine, 18th or early 19th century, Kesi (Silk tapestry), hanging scroll

These textiles embraced a diverse range of subjects, including landscapes, birds and flowers.

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Tapestry and embroidery were treasured by the Qing imperial court.

Longevity banner commemorating the 73th birthday of Xu Yingkui, 1900, Silk with metallic threads

The demand for pictorial life-like images rendered in silk resulted in innovation and the development of new weaving techniques.

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The results were a proliferation of exquisite designs and creative imagery embroidered with utmost care and delicacy.  

Longevity banner commemorating the 70th birthday of Xu Yingkui, 1900, Silk with metallic threads

The sophistication and achievements of Chinese Pictorials Silks are fabulously exemplified by the lovely scrolls, framed panels, banners and robes on show.

Text The University Museum and Art Gallery / Photos Cammy Yiu

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