White Satin Hanging-Screen Panel with Cantonese Embroidery of Two Rams and a Goat Symbolizing the Auspicious Beginning of a New Year

This panel of a hanging screen features a beautiful spring scene that symbolizes the thriving growth of all living creatures. The work's polychrome embroidery is rendered on the white satin background. Shown in different postures, two rams and a goat (in Chinese, ram and goat are both pronounced yang) are portrayed in a vivid manner. The bodies of the animals are rendered with stitches that give a full texture to the wool. In Chinese, the ram and goat are homophones with yang (the male-principle, which represents heat and the sun); as such, this image alludes to the traditional ideal of "Three Yang Begetting Prosperity" (Sanyang kaitai). Full of traditional artistry and significance, this work is a masterpiece of Cantonese embroidery.