Rare Gold And Blue Chinese Altar Cloth

Blue, cream and gold floss silk embroidery in peking knot and satin stitch on a satin silk gold ground comprising four joined panels. The main field is decorated with flowers and butterflies above a Lishui (Sea Waves) border adorned with bats. With an outer border of black cotton profusely embroidered with flowers and butterflies and an inner border of silk brocade. The reverse is lined in fine oatmeal coloured cotton. 142cm x 150cm. (56 x 59 inches) Qing dynasty, circa 1890

A beautiful and very fine example. The gold satin ground is unusual to see and combined with the simple colour palette of blues and creams makes for an elegant and refined textile. The use of Peking knot to embroider the larger motifs provides a striking textural contrast to the soft sheen of the satin ground.  

Chinese Altar Cloths are always almost square and this example is larger than normally found, the standard domestic Buddhist altar table being generally 100 cm wide and 90 cm long. Altar cloths were used to decorate domestic altars during important occasions, such as weddings, birthdays and funerals, as well as on important Chinese feast days.

Condition
The embroidery throughout is intact and tight to the ground, with only one or two loose threads over the whole piece. Scattered marks throughout the main ground. One 4cm long horizontal split at bottom left corner (left as seen in images). Creasing throughout. The silk is quite loose and sags somewhat at the bottom when hung. See particularly at the top of the sea waves border at bottom right, where the heavier embroidery pulls the silk down. Reverse is clean and intact.

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