Kesi Tapestry of Plum Blossoms and Magpies in Winter

This hanging scroll is made of silk and is a woven version of an original painted work. A small shuttle threaded with silk flosses of fifteen to sixteen colors was maneuvered in the weaving process to present the color scheme of the original painting. Working like a painter with a brush, the artisans created an ingenious version of the harmoniously colored painting. Many kinds of kesi weaving techniques were applied in the creation of this work. This silk tapestry is among the few works of Shen Zifan that have been preserved to the present; it is also an outstanding representative work of silk tapestry artistry of the Southern Song dynasty. The work claimed an important place in the collection of the Qing imperial family.