Art of silk fabric decoration, China

The ancient Chinese craftsmanship of silk fabrics decoration in China

Art of silk fabric decoration is one of the oldest arts in the world. It is commonly known that the Chinese were the first to begin to manufacture silk fabrics in the first millennium BC. Silk gradually became popular in Persia and India. And these three countries became the founders of silk fabric decorative art.

Silk fabrics in the East were notable for their variety of ornaments. The images of fabulous animals, dragons, fantastic birds, as well as exotic plants and flowers are considered traditional for the Chinese.

All images are applied in two ways: embroidery and fabric painting. The clothes of Chinese emperors, their wives and concubines were among the most expensive in the world, because in addition to embroidery, all the patterns of the costume were decorated with precious stones. One smart clothes with all the materials taken into consideration could cost in term of modern prices, a few hundred thousand dollars.

However, the decoration of silk fabrics was not the only thing that the Chinese could do with this precious material. One of the most common types of art in China was considered embroidered silk paintings. It is a kind of tapestry that adorned the palaces of Chinese emperors and the aristocracy.

The most valuable were two-sided pictures, when a master embroidered two different story plots on both sides. The skill of the embroiderers was so dainty that it is impossible to understand at first sight that you have an embroidered picture before you. The household objects, such as screens, beds and even furniture were also decorated very often in the same way, and actually were treated as objects of art.

Today, silk decoration in China is one of the main types of arts and crafts. There, you can not only enjoy the works of old masters, but also buy the products of modern embroiderers who are highly competitive to their ancestors in quality of performance and skill.