Valance Item Number: Edz1290 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Plain cloth embroidered with blue and yellow motifs. Five baskets of stylized fruit and flowers with four deer between. Butterflies, flowers, and dragonflies are below, and across the top are smaller motifs of a sword, books, scrolls, and coins.. Lower corners have phoenix, flower and butterfly motifs; upper corners have stylized butterflies and flowers. In a few places stitching is incomplete and stencil shows. Raw edges. Some stitching intermittently along top edge.

History Of Use

Blue and white embroideries are part of a long domestic tradition. Designs vary geographically but are constant within generations of families except for minor individual variations. Often used to decorate the bed which traditionally played a focal part in household ritual particularly at the new year when all household spirits were honored. They are family made, by women, and family owned. These embroideries were of no local commercial value.

Cultural Context

utilitarian;household

Iconographic Meaning

Phoenix; supreme power of the sun, fertility. Deer; longevity. Butterflies, flowers, fruits; marital happiness, peace, fruitfulness. Books, scrolls, coins; learning, wisdom, prosperity.

Item History

What

Name
Valance
Identification Number
Edz1290
Type of Item
valance
Material
cotton fibre and indigo dye
Manufacturing Technique
woven, dyed, stitched and embroidered
Overall
height 37.0 cm, width 186.0 cm

Who

Culture
Chinese
Previous Owner
Kathleen F. Spooner
Received from
Kathleen F. Spooner (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Donations Fund (Funding source)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Chengdu, Sichuan, China

When

Creation Date
before 1945
Collection Date
between 1932 and 1945
Ownership Date
before April 25, 1979
Acquisition Date
on April 25, 1979

Other

Item Classes
textiles
Condition
fair
Accession Number
0567/0065