Name/Title
Chinese patchwork : ancient origins, new expressionsEntry/Object ID
NK9198.5.C4.B4 2025Description
Patchwork has a long history in China, tracing its roots back almost two thousand years to the arrival of Buddhism in the region. Across millennia, a thread can be traced from spiritual practitioners embracing patchwork textiles to their use in secular culture, eventually leading to a form of functional domestic decoration -- and an outlet for artistic ingenuity -- that continues in parts of China’s countryside today. The first ever book on the subject, Chinese Patchwork explores the creativity of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Chinese makers who stitch fabric remnants into functional, decorative, and auspicious textiles for their homes and family. This volume includes stunning reproductions of lively and colorful patchwork objects, accompanied by scholarly essays about the tradition and history of the art form, and interviews with makers. Photographs of works in situ by American photographer Lois Conner beautifully illustrate the art form’s bold visual presence.Lexicon
Search Terms
art, chinese--20th century, art, chinese--21st century, quilting--china, textile crafts--china, textile design--chinaBook Details
Author
Nancy BerlinerPublisher
Museum of Fine Arts, BostonDate Published
2025ISBN
9780878469079Notes
Length: 223General Notes
Note Type
ContentsNote
Director's foreword / Pierre Terjanian -- Preface / Dorothy Ko -- Stumbling onto beauty -- Patchwork and piety -- Beyond the monastery -- New times, new meanings -- Patchworks in place / photographs by Lois Conner -- Patterns and improvisations -- Picking up the pieces.