Shawl

Unknown

1885–1910 · silk · Costume Institute

The embroidery on this Chinese shawl is unique in its imagery and level of animation, especially in the realistic depiction of birds and their actions (eating insects, for example). Other atypical details include fruit (pineapples and grapes) and fanciful insects and plant pods. Most of the embroidery is executed in a standard satin stitch but the tails of the grey birds are done in a fine herringbone stitch that imitates the texture of feathers. The fretwork along the border is an unusual touch for shawls made for the Western market.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1885–1910

Medium

silk

Culture

Chinese

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. William H. Fishback, 1967