Dragons, Unicorns And Phoenixes - Origin And Continuity Of Technique And Motif.

DRAGONS, UNICORNS AND PHOENIXES – ORIGIN AND CONTINUITY OF TECHNIQUE AND MOTIF by M.A. Hann Title: Dragons, Unicorns and Phoenixes Origin and Continuity of Technique and Motif. Author: M. A. Hann Foreword: D. Holdcroft Published by the University Gallery Leeds, in association with ULITA, as an accompaniment to the exhibition: Dragons, Unicorns and Phoenixes - A Selection of Qing Dynasty Silks. Copyright © 2004 The University of Leeds and the author. All rights reserved. ISBN: 1 874331 32 4 Acknowledgements The author acknowledges the research work of Hong Zhong (a postgraduate student supervised by the author in the late 1980s) and, in particular, his contribution to the detailed cataloguing of the Chinese textiles held in ULITA. The organisation of the exhibition, to which this monograph is an accompaniment, was facilitated by the endeavours of Mr. P. Lawson, Ms. M. Scargall and Mr. J. A. Smith. Thanks are also due to Ms. D. Snow, the University Collections Officer, for her unstinting support, and to Mr. I. S. Moxon for reading early proofs of this monograph. The author accepts all responsibility for errors or omissions. Price of this monograph: £5.00. All proceeds to ULITA. i ii CONTENTS Foreword. 1. Introduction. 2. Origins. 2.1 Indirect evidence. 2.2 Silk manufacture. 2.3 Bast fibre manufacture. 2.4 Wool manufacture. 2.5 Colours and patterns. 3. Ancient Production. 3.1 Industrial organisation. 3.2 Embroidery. 3.3 Woven textiles. 3.4 Knitted textiles. 3.5 Printed textiles. 4. The Silk Route - its Development and Decline. 5. Silk Manufacture During the Qing Dynasty. 5.1 Domestic manufacture. 5.2 Independent factory manufacture. 5.3 State-sponsored manufacture. 5.4 End-uses. 6. Techniques of Manufacture During the Qing Dynasty. 6.1 Embroidery. 6.2 Tapestry weaving. 6.3 Brocades. 6.4 Velvets. 7. Motifs - Their Origins and Symbolism. 7.1 Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian motifs. 7.2 Calligraphic and homophonic motifs. 7.3 Auspicious motifs and compositions. 8. In Conclusion. References. Sources of Figures. Figure 1: Zhong, 1989. Figures 2-5: Zhong and Hann, 1989b. Figures 6-10 and the cover of this monograph: Reproduced from items held by the University of Leeds International Textiles Archive (ULITA). DRAGONS, UNICORNS AND PHOENIXES 1 FOREWORD Over the past twenty years, traditional Chinese embroidered and woven textiles have gained increased attention in the auction houses of Europe and North America, and have become an important focus among art and craft collectors worldwide. The collection of Chinese textiles held by the University of Leeds International Textiles Archive (ULITA) was assembled several decades before this relatively recent wave of popularity. Professor Aldred Barker, the then recently retired Professor of Textile Industries, travelled to Shanghai in the 1930s to advise on the establishment of an educational institution dedicated to the study of textiles [Barker and Barker, 1934]. Barker was accompanied by his son (K. C. Barker) and, whilst there, the two amassed a quantity of traditionally decorated textiles, from which the present-day collection was built. Fabric labels attached to several of the Leeds Qing pieces are marked with the initials "K.C.B". A further label bears the inscription "Presented by Professor Barker". Another, detached, label indicates that an item was presented by two Chinese students who attended the Department of Textiles at the University of Leeds. Although the precise circumstances of acquisition of the bulk of the collection are, as yet, unknown, the collection is referred to as the "Barker collection of Chin