Untitled

Unknown

19th century · Silk and metallic thread tapestry (kesi) with ink and color · Asian Art

While at first glance this picture of pheasants and a distant landscape looks like a painting, it is actually silk tapestry (kesi). Beginning in the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) and continuing into the late Qing, faithful reproductions of paintings were made in kesi. By contrast, tapestry-woven silks with decorative patterns were produced for clothing and furnishings. By the nineteenth century, kesipictures show a change in technique: large areas are tapestry-woven in a single color and then details painted in. Here, for example, the river is a single area with painted waves and ripples. (From China, 1800–1900 A.D.)

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Silk and metallic thread tapestry (kesi) with ink and color

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913