Lot 666: A large Chinese hand-embroidered silk panel decorated with cranes amidst pine, bamboo, and prunus

A large Chinese hand-embroidered silk panel, likely intended as a bedcover or decorative wall hanging, worked on a pale duck-egg blue silk ground with a subtle slubbed texture. The central field features five red-crowned cranes in various stages of flight and perching. These are set amidst a landscape of flowering prunus branches, pine needles, and bamboo stalks. The embroidery is executed in polychrome silk threads using a variety of techniques including long and short stitch, satin stitch, and stem stitch. The main field is enclosed by a wide decorative border featuring a repeating pattern of flowering vines, foliate scrolls, and yellow and green leaf clusters. This border is delineated by a double-interlocking wavy guard band in a contrasting reddish-brown thread. The item is currently unlined and no maker’s marks, signatures, or labels are visible on the textile.