Panel with Design of Peony Scrolls and Butterflies

A pattern of peony scrolls and butterflies adorns this rectangular textile. The design was brocaded with supplementary wefts of silver thread on a dark blue silk satin ground. The panel’s motifs derive from Chinese textile sources, particularly those from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

The fabric was produced with the Jacquard weave, a method introduced from Lyon, France, to the Nishijin textile district in Kyōto, Japan, in 1873. Creating such textiles is costly and labor-intensive due to the time and skill involved in making the Jacquard cards, preparing the loom for new patterns, and the slow pace of weaving. Typically, the Jacquard weave combines two or more basic weaves, with different ones used for the design and the background.