Page 38 - Chiense TExtiles, MET MUSEUM Pub 1934

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
dating earlier than the eighteenth century.
The origins of these stitches used on gauze are ob-
scure, but it seems reasonable to suppose that they were
known centuries earlier than the examples which now
exist. After all, they are comparatively simple from a
technical standpoint, much more so than some of the
Han stitches, although they require the utmost patience
in execution. Whatever their history, they are unusually
pleasing to the eye and are favorites in China as well as
in the West.

EXAMPLES OF WEAVES A D
EMBROIDERY STITCHES I THE
MUSEUM COLLECTIO
The textiles in our collection are, with a few exceptions,
of the Ch'ing dynasty. There is an unfortunate tend-
ency among students of Chinese art to regard the Ch'ing
mere! y as a period of decline in the arts. Although paint-
ing and sculpture did fall off badly, many of the lesser
arts actually made great gains artistically as well as from
the standpoint of technique. And to consider only the
textiles, it seems rather presumptuous to adopt a patron-
izing attitude toward these exquisite fabrics when we
recall that most of them were made at a time when we
were a land of pioneers wearing unadorned homespun.
Although we have a few Sung brocades on the mounts
of early kakemono in the Museum collection, they are
not included here because of practical difficulties in
showing them with other textiles. The earliest example,
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