Translation of Medium: Kesi Meets Painting

The Chinese silk tapestry called kesi represents a traditional method of weaving with distinguished visual effects. Based on ancient Near East weaving techniques it developed in China during the late first millennium into a unique and highly appreciated applied art. Kesi tapestry was woven with small bobbins on frames. It resembled embroidery, but it is distinguished by its typical aesthetic appeal, its delicacy and timeconsuming labour of the weaver. Its use ranged from decorative hangings to men's and women's clothing. The kesi hangings functioned visually as paintings. Its aesthetic and social meaning merged with that of painting. Examples of the Chinese silk tapestry from the late 19 th and the 20 th century in the Náprstek Museum show three technological and visual possibilities of the technique. A rank badge worn on a coat of a Chinese official during the late 19 th century, a 1920s-1930s dress of a fashionable lady, and a souvenir hanging from the second half of the 20 th century.

2008

Pictorial silk tapestry, or kesi, was produced in China beginning in the tenth century as a method of weaving that allowed for designs that were independent of loom controlled patterning. When Chinese weavers adopted the technique, they expanded its design repertoire from overall patterning to a means of creating pictures, and typically chose similar subjects to those of court paintings, sometimes copying directly from them. In kesi, the conventions of depiction in painting and tapestry met, and the process of translation from one to the other gave rise to a new mode of expression. Tapestry method represents a serious challenge for the process of translating from a medium that is not constrained by a structure, and the investment of time and material to produce kesi strongly suggests that its creation was not undertaken lightly. Its use by the imperial court as gifts to courtiers and for diplomatic purposes demonstrates that kesi functioned as a valuable form of social currency and ...

This paper introduces the technique of kesi or tapestry weave in China through one example, Butterfly and Camellia, attributed to Zhu Kerou, a woman artist of the twelfth century. This particular weaving is attributed to a time period when tapestry weavings began to imitate the visual language of painting. The relationship between kesi and painting is explored, examining the early use of kesi as wrappers for paintings. At the same time that the basic technology of kesi weaving is discussed, the gendered nature of weaving as work in Song-dynasty China as well as the techniques of connoisseurship of kesi during the Ming and Qing dynasties are also illuminated. The motives of such connoisseurs are examined, as their writing and collection practices framed this work for all future viewers and scholars. Sources used include inscriptions on works of art, most notably one inscription mounted next to Butterfly and Camellia by the eminent Ming painter, Wen Congjian; painting and textiles catalogues; as well as early writing on kesi weave; and the weavings themselves, which tell us most clearly the artisans' intentions and concerns.

Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, 2023

The 18 th Dynasty of Egypt saw the introduction of various new artistic elements often described as 'expressive' or 'naturalistic'. This development appears to have occurred within a short time span, and many of its details remain unclear. This article examines this phenomenon with particular focus on palace decorations from Tell el-Dab'a, Malqata and Amarna. The three sites display many artistic commonalities, despite the changes in temple decoration that occurred within the same period. It is proposed that this discrepancy reflects two separate strands of artistic development, namely (i) a canonical style predominantly found in religious and funerary contexts; and (ii) a 'dynamic' style that is epitomised by the palace decorations. Analyses are made regarding the development of the dynamic style, its influence on Amarna art, as well as the mechanism of its transmission.

During the reign of Emperor Huan (147-67) of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) a family of merely local renown invested 'everything they had' in the construction of four decorated offering shrines for recently deceased men of the clan. According to inscriptions at the shrines, some of these men had held minor offices; others had devoted themselves to the study of the Confucian classics. They were typical of that class of scholars, officials and aspiring officials who were both the product and the mainstay of the Han imperial bureaucracy, the same bureaucracy that, some two centuries earlier, had displaced the hereditary military aristocracy characteristic of pre-Han society. 1 Today the Wu family enjoys something more than local renown, and all because of their decorated shrines, which have received the attentions of scholars for almost a thousand years. This venerable historiography may account for the fact that the shrines have been mentioned more frequently than most monuments in comparisons between Han and pre-Han times. Generally speaking these comparisons have not focused upon the social differences between petty lords and aspiring bureaucrats, but have emphasized instead the abandonment of the 'stylized' forms of pre-imperial vessel decor in favor of more 'realistic' modes of representation in Han times. 2 There is a difficulty with this comparison. Although more representational than the cauldron decor of the ancient kings, the pictures displayed at these shrines are far from what we would call 'realistic'. This discrepancy has given rise to much speculation concerning the style of the Wu Shrines engravings. The date, location, and function of the shrines have all been cited to explain the oddities of their style. Amidst this wealth of scholarship, no more than a few lines have been written of the patronage of these monuments, yet it may well be in its patronage that the art of the Han contrasts more sharply with the art of pre-imperial China. In 1948 it was suggested that the didactic and political character of many Han reliefs was due to the influence of the state controlled art production apparatus of the Han empire. The histories tell us that lacquerwares, mirrors and

The Mongol r u l ers had hardly any nee d fo r painting and even if some rare exceptions among the high of f ic ials took a ct i ve par t i n the li f e and e ndeavour of t he c r eative circ le s , they can hard l y be s aid t o have built any bridge s between the Mongol court and the realm of a rt. " Osvald Siren , 1958 . 1 Recent scholarship has shown that, contrary to t he view of the Mongols r epresented by Siren 's s t ateme nt, t he YU a n emperors and t heir f amilies att empt ed t o ma i ntai n Chinese court patterns of art use and appreciation, employed Chinese artist s a nd col l e cte d ancient paintings and cal ligraphy . 2 The character o f these act i vi t ies, of course , varied with t he temperaments and educational levels of indivi dual members of the ruling house. W e c an d i s t ingui sh, for inst ance, bet ween t he offici a l , p ro f orma acquis i t ion of p a int i ngs and calligraphy by Khubilai Kha n (r. 1260-1294), and the mor e personal, inf ormed interest in such objects d i spla yed

2018

This research project builds on insights from a study of the ancient Chinese methods of ink and wash landscape painting in particular through a focus of Song Dynasty landscape painting. My research seeks to produce artworks that explore the potential in, and re-contextualise, the ancient tradition of the Wrinkle method (texture method) within Song Dynasty ink and wash work in order to innovate the tradition. The following questions inform the research: What can Song Dynasty ink and brush (wash) paintings offer contemporary art practice? How does ink and wash landscape paintings reveal Chinese philosophical thought, especially the philosophy of Yin and Yang, within environments outside of that tradition? How can the practice of calligraphy be re-contextualised within a contemporary art practice to communicate Yin and Yang philosophy in relationship to the landscape? How might the process of using ink and wash wrinkle methodology develop a new visual language that enters into a dialog...

2011

Artibus Asiae, 2002

The origin of Daoist iconography was deeply rooted in traditional Chinese representations of the divine. In the course of its development, it inevitably bore the imprint of the Chinese Buddhist figurative tradition. The Tang dynasty witnessed an important evolution in the history of Daoist art., Daoist sculptures of the Tang era made for the temple were characterized by rapid iconographic and stylistic innovations and became distinct in content and form from that of the preceding periods and its Buddhist counterpart. The dramatic change in direction that brought Daoist art to maturity which took place in this period was impacted by the trend of religious politicization, of which intensive imperial interference in religious activity was the key element. Existence of a political dimension in Tang Daoist art can be simply inferred by the fact that this art was consumed by the imperial force. Not only did the court use Daoist art to enhance its own presence and authority, but it also pervaded this art with courtly taste.

China and the World—the World and China—A Transcultural Perspective, Volume 1: The World of Pre-modern China, 2019