Page 340 - Chinese Art, Vol II By Stephen W. Bushell

98 CHINESE ART.
The floral kingdom supplies the Chinese with some of their
finest designs in brocaded silks and flowered velvets. The flowers
always preserve, more or less, their natural forms, and are never
so widely idealised as in Persian and Saracenic art generally. In
the famous " hundred flower " brocade of the Chinese it is not
difficult for one conversant with the Chinese flora to identify any
particular spray in the studied profusion of the floral ground.
The chrysanthemum and peony are favourite flowers in textile
art, as well as in the ceramic field, in which Jacquemart has given the
name chrysanthemo-feonienne to one of his " families " of decora-
tion their decorative treatment, in combination with butterflies,
;
bearing symbols of long life and riches, is seen in the gorgeous piece
of flowered velvet represented in Fig. 112. The Nelumbium is
perhaps more idealised than any other flower, but may always
be recognised by the characteristic seed-pod in the middle of the
flower. In Fig. 113 it is arranged in bold scrolls for a velvet hang-
ing, with a broad rectangular band of svastika pattern, and a finsr
intermediate band worked with conventional dragons' heads
suggesting a fret. The sacred lotus, again, is still further con-
ventionalised in Fig. 114, where the foliage is gracefuUy interwoven
into a charming design enclosing flying bats posed regularly in
pairs. These flowered velvets rank among the most effective
of Chinese fabrics ; even when the colour is the same throughout,
the raised pattern contrasts in its fuller depth of tone with the
smooth glow of the rich silk ground. They are used for cloaks and
riding coats, as well as for cushions and temple hangings.
Another phase of floral decoration is exhibited in the lady's
sleeveless coat in Fig. 115, which is made of woven silk {k'o ssn),
with baskets of flowers and fruit, containing peonies, lotus, Buddha's
hand citrons, Polyporus lucidiis with sprays of bamboo, etc., tied
with wavy fillets, displayed in coloured silks and gold thread on
a dark blue ground, the border being woven with interlacing sprays
of orchids {Ian hua). Some of the finer details in k'o ssii work of this