Page 154 - Yamanaka co Auction catalog

246-FoUR ANTIQUE CHINESE VELVET WALL HANGINGS (Eigh-
teenth century)
All-over decoration of the so-called "monster-head pat-
tern," in gold on a ground of coral-red; swastika-fret bor-
der in the coral velvet on gold-thread ground at the top and
bottom.
Length, 67 inches; width, 20% inches.

247-CHINESE BROCADE TABLE-COVER IN RED AND GOLD (Eigh-
teenth century)
A rich rose red of remarkable quality, through which runs
an intricate adornment in gold, formed of gracefully inter-
locking and continuous sprays and scrolls of the peony and
lotus in high conventionalization.
Length, 64 inches; width, 59 inches.

248-IMPERIAL PALACE LARGE SILK VELVET WALL HANGING
( K' ang-hsi)
A fabric of royal luxuriance and great beauty, soft in
texture, delicate and affluent at once in color, abundant in
the poetic symmetry of its decoration. The velvet ground
is a brilliant, glowing sapphire-blue (in certain lights as
deep as blackest night), cut with a scroll and blossom orna-
mentation and other decorative details, which appear in
the rich silk of the body. The motive, in the field, is thc
Indian lotus in large blossoms and graceful foliations,
which appear in the softly-brilliant silk in delicate tones
of old-rose, turquoise or light sky-blue and pale Nile-green,
enhanced with threads of gold. A unique feature is the
inclusion of a Shou medallion in each flower, a variation
that has not heretofore been found. In addition numerous
bats in gold interrupt the scrolls, and occasional details are
worked in a light pink which appears almost white, and in
deep salmon-pink or rich apricot. A border in the field
motive, but without the Shou characters, lies between a
border of the archaic dragon-scroll and an outer border ot
swastika-fret, while an exterior band of the velvet encloses
the whole. Length, 15 feet 8 inches; width, 6 feet 9 inches.
(Illustrated)