Section of Border from Thanka (Religious Picture)
18th century, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Medium
Silk, warp-float faced 2:1 's' twill weave with plain interlacings of secondary binding warps and supplementary patterning wefts
Dimensions
89.8 × 9.9 cm (35 3/8 × 3 7/8 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
184963
Art Historical Context
This exquisite section of border from a *thanka* (religious picture) hails from 18th-century China during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), a period when Manchu rulers fostered remarkable advancements in textile arts. Crafted by a Manchu artist, this narrow silk strip—measuring 89.8 × 9.9 cm—once adorned the edge of a larger *thanka*, a traditional Tibetan Buddhist scroll painting used for meditation, teaching, and ritual. Such borders framed sacred imagery, enhancing the spiritual potency of these portable artworks with intricate patterns that symbolized protection, prosperity, and cosmic harmony...
About the Artist
Manchu
"Manchu" is a cultural and ethnic designation used in museum collection records to identify objects, textiles, costumes, and decorative arts associated with the Manchu people, a Tungusic group originating from the regions northeast of the Great Wall of China. The Manchus rose to political dominance in 1644 when they conquered the declining Ming dynasty and established the Qing dynasty, which ruled...