This piece of drawn-work, crafted for the first West Lake Exposition of Hangzhou by the male Chinese arts and crafts master Zhao Xixiang born in 1936 in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang province, perfectly integrates the traditional Venice lace craftsmanship of Xiaoshan with the padded embroidery technique of Taizhou, both in the coastal eastern Zhejiang province, creating an amazing contrast between the openwork of Venice lace and the relief-like texture of flowers and fruits by the padded embroidery.
Having achieved breakthroughs in both pattern design and embroidery techniques, this piece counts as the first of its kind and the best of China. It presents the beauty of 820 flowers in various forms based on the application of 34 types of traditional Chinese embroidery stitches. There are 15 million stitches altogether on this piece, which would have taken one experienced embroiderer four and a half years to finish.
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