An exceptional large embroidered 'Peach Festival' hanging scroll, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 藍地刺繡西王母祝壽圖掛軸

A Japanese private collection, Kyoto.

Christie’s Hong Kong, 22nd March 2019, lot 1654.

This exceptional hanging scroll is particularly distinguished by its remarkable quality of execution as well as its near pristine state of preservation. The embroidery has been meticulously crafted in exceptionally fine silk threads, allowing one to appreciate the subtlety and vividness of the silk embroidery precisely as it appeared when completed nearly two and a half centuries ago. The phrase "painting with a needle" aptly describes the exquisite craftsmanship of this piece, in which every detail, no matter how minute, has been rendered in delicate silk floss threads. Facial features of the figures, from expressive eyebrows to meticulously depicted beards, from the subtle hairlines of female figures with elaborately arranged chignons to the wrinkled brows of elderly sages, are all executed with extraordinary precision and skill. Similarly, textile patterns on depicted garments, ranging from minute geometric motifs to elaborate roundel-patterned damasks, are entirely recreated through the artful manipulation of needle and silk thread alone. This meticulous attention to detail extends even to the realistic treatment of lichen-covered rocks, speckled grassy areas, and the delicately spotted skins of peaches.

The sophisticated shading effects evident in the embroidery, such as on the neck of Xiwangmu’s phoenix, the risers of staircases leading up to terraces, or the subtle blush on peaches, are achieved through skilful blending of individual strands of silk floss threads in progressively darker or lighter hues, executed with precise, interlocking long-and-short stitches. The celestial "five-coloured clouds" depicted in the upper section of the composition are masterfully expressed with fluid clusters of sinuous lines executed in elegant stem stitching, while the trees beside the staircase serve as a bravura display of intricate knot stitching. Gilt and silver-wrapped threads are further employed sparingly for accents, notably in details such as the pair of jue wine cups carried by an attendant ascending the stairs, and on the ridge tiles of the distant palace roofs, heightening the visual opulence of the composition.

The meticulous execution, harmonious composition and overall aesthetic refinement of this embroidery strongly support its dating to the Qianlong reign, a period renowned for the extraordinary technical virtuosity and artistic refinement fostered under imperial patronage. Compare a closely related embroidered depiction of the same subject on blue satin, formerly in the collection of William Christian Paul, now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 30.75.31.

來源

日本私人收藏，京都

紐約佳士得2019年3月22日，編號1654

此刺繡工藝精絕，品相完美近於初成。通幅絲線纖細如髮，色澤鮮妍如昔。所謂「以針為筆」，每一細節皆以絲縷精心繡就：人物眉目傳神，鬚髯細緻入微；仕女髮絲纖毫可辨，髮髻精巧盤結；老者皺眉蹙額，栩栩如生。衣飾紋樣繁複，細至幾何小紋，大至團花錦地，皆以絲線穿針，逐一呈現。甚至岩石苔蘚、草地斑點、桃果肌理，亦無不逼真入妙。

其暈色之法尤見巧思，或如西王母所乘鳳凰之頸羽，或如臺階之陰影，或如桃實之淡紅，皆以絲縷深淺交錯、長短針法層層暈染而成。上方祥雲，以盤曲流暢之莖針描繡，氣韻靈動；階旁樹木，則以盤結針法，精妙繁複。更間飾金銀絲線，如侍者所捧一對爵杯及遠處殿宇瓦脊，閃爍光華，愈顯奢麗。

此幅刺繡之工藝之精湛、構圖之和諧、格調之雅致，足證其製作年代應為乾隆朝，此時期宮廷之藝術水準與技藝技巧俱臻鼎盛。類似題材之藍緞地刺繡，可見 William Christian Paul 舊藏一例，現藏紐約大都會藝術博物館，館藏編號30.75.31。