China Daily Global Edition (USA)
A rare glimpse of a silk masterpiece
A highly fragile artifact, the Chinese silk tapestry weaving, or kesi, that features a design of ducks in a lotus pond is rarely showcased at exhibitions because it needs to be placed in a special setting where the conditions are controlled.
Yang Zhigang, director of the Shanghai Museum, pointed out that the piece could be displayed in the new east wing of the facility when it is completed in a few years.
The kesi tapestry was created by a woman named Zhu Kerou, also named Zhu Gang, during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). In contrast to traditional tapestry in other parts of the world which usually features designs weaved using fine wool, motifs on kesi tapestry are made using silk, resulting in a unique lightness and clarity of pattern.
The term kesi means “cut silk” because the horizontal thread is often cut in order to create the pictorial design during the weaving process, while the vertical line runs the whole length, a method widely known in Chinese as “tong jing duan wei”.
Yu Ying, an assistant researcher at the Shanghai Museum, explained that this particular artifact is unique because the fine gaps in the texture are not a result of the cutting of the horizontal thread but shuttle rebounding instead.
Yu, who was also a consultant for the show National Treasure, said that it was difficult to present the artist’s life story in the show because few historical documents can be found about Zhu.
According to the notes regarding her creation that were found in the Liaoning Provincial Museum, researchers learned that Zhu lived in the Songjiang area, which is today part of suburban Shanghai, during the Southern Song Dynasty.
Today, seven of Zhu’s creations remain. Four of them can be found in the Palace Museum in Taipei while another two are kept in the Liaoning Provincial Museum in Shenyang. The kesi tapestry at the Shanghai Museum is the only large artwork among the seven and the other six were once part of the imperial palace collection during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The piece measures 107.5 cm long and 108.8 cm wide and it depicts egrets, kingfishers and ducks in a pond.
To weave a kesi tapestry, one has to start from the bottom and complete the whole piece in one attempt as it is impossible to make any alterations. A piece as large as the artifact in the Shanghai Museum would have taken up to eight years to complete, said Yu.
“Judging from the workmanship, the artist must have had much artistic influence and received training from master artists. She would also have had access to a large number of great artworks,” said Yu.
“Zhu could have come from a wealthy family. Apart from being good at handicrafts, she also had an abundant supply of fine thread. The family might also have had access to fine pigments.”