AN EXTREMELY LARGE CREAM-GROUND SILK EMBROIDERED 'HUNDRED BIRDS' HANGING 19th/early 20th centuryAN EXTREMELY LARGE CREAM-GROUND SILK EMBROIDERED 'HUNDRED BIRDS' HANGING19th/early 20th centuryFinely embroidered in multicoloured silk in multiple shades of blue, aubergine, cream, green, maroon, yellow, grey and purple threads with a multitude of long-tailed birds perched on gnarled branches or flittering amidst shrubs of blossoming peonies growing between horses, camels, monkeys, deer and an elephant, all surrounded by a border vividly decorated with sinuous dragons swimming amongst crabs and aquatic plants. 522cm (205 2/8in) long x 428cm (169in) wide. 十九/二十世紀初 緞地繡百鳥瑞獸圖大掛屏This large hanging was probably made for export to the West where it would have probably served as a bed cover or an ornamental throw. The high-quality hand embroidery may be connected to a high demand on behalf of a more discerning clientele, who chose the favourite designs and colours from a series of pattern books available in the silk workshops at the time. The main subject matter, focusing on the depiction of a multitude of colourful birds fluttering around flower-filled landscapes, appears to be a revival and a re-working of a theme which was a popular subject the Ming dynasty.Compare with a related cream-ground embroidered silk hanging, 1900-1930, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by V.Wilson, Chinese Textiles, London, p.34, no.34.