Guangdong Embroidery. Anonymous.
42 × 38 cm
While the collection primarily features Hunan and Suzhou Embroideries, the museum also acquired exquisite examples from other regions. Guangdong embroidery includes two main styles: Guangzhou Embroidery and Chaozhou Embroidery, with origins dating back to the Tang Dynasty. Guangzhou Embroidery, centered around the Pearl River Delta, often depicts Lingnan landscapes and auspicious symbols such as peacocks, lychees, and phoenixes. It is characterized by bright colors, rich compositions, and a layered, three-dimensional effect created through diverse and flexible stitching techniques. Chaozhou Embroidery is commonly used to decorate ancestral halls and is known for its distinctive Golden Stitch, reflecting strong religious and folk influences. From the Qing Dynasty onward, Guangdong Embroidery incorporated foreign aesthetic elements, diversifying its styles, with many artisans innovating new stitches and patterns. Notably, early Guangdong Embroidery was dominated by male artisans, with women taking over as the primary practitioners only in more recent times.