GENERAL EMBROIDERY, PICTURE

A very old Chinese finely embroidered picture telling a story of a Chinese lady in her garden during the seasons.

At the top, the river is flowing down the mountain where pine trees grow (symbol of winter) and red prunus flower (symbol of winter). Below she is standing in a gazebo with a chrysanthemum flower, symbol of Autumn, above her head. To the left is a tree of peonies (symbol of Spring) and 2 butterflies (symbol of happiness). Further down, she is standing, admiring her garden and the lotus flower (symbol of Summer) growing in the pond, with a weeping willow tree nearby (symbol of fertility and new life). Around the scene is border of hand embroidered buds. Intricate details embroidered on the faces and gowns.

This panel embroidered on sandy coloured silk fabric is bordered with a woven narrow blue braid with orange flowers. Around the perimeter is band of beautiful old gold damask silk fabric edged with black silk.

The backing is light brown silk fabric.

The item may have been smoked to make it look older. The twisted threads used are more recent than the floss untwisted silk used in older objects.