China, c. 210 x 72 cm, 17th/18th century, fragmentary silk panel with recessed pile, where multicolour pattern wefts, some of which made of pressed golden wire, create a pattern of lotus flowers, tendrils and bats in archaic form, two different meandering borders, the internal border with grotesque faces, textiles such as the present one were used in the imperial style as a front decoration or cover for the heated sitting board, good pile, some damage to the external right long side, lower end trimmed, the underside lined entirely with linen, three similar panels were successfully sold at Dorotheum, of which the present one displays the best condition. (MA)

Further reading:
Dorotheum auction catalogue, Oriental carpets, textiles and tapestries, September 2015, lot 56; Dorotheum auction catalogue, Oriental carpets, textiles and tapestries, March 2016, lot 60; Dorotheum auction catalogue, Oriental carpets, textiles and tapestries, September 2016, lot 196; Shelagh Vainker, Chinese Silk, A Cultural History, page 175; H. A. Lorentz, A view of Chinese Carpets, ill. 15 and 16; Dieter Kuhn, Chinese Silks; Dorotheum auction catalogue, Oriental carpets, textiles and tapestries, May 2012, lot 167; Dorotheum auction catalogue, Oriental carpets, textiles and tapestries, May 2013, lot 106.