Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum

14a
BOTH SCARVES are made of white figured silk
of great suppleness. The longer one (with fringes) is
woven with a six-point star pattern. The shorter one
(with a ruffle) has a more intricate pattern consisting
of sprays of chrysanthemum and orchid dispersed
against a ground pattern commonly called wanzi
buduantou or "wan ideogram without ends." The
presence of these subtle patterns gives the monochromatic
silk a textured look. This in turn adds
extra visual delight to the end-product.
Two sections of the longer
scarf (a) are decorated with an
identical abstract design composed
of what appears like four
connecting strokes sweeping across
the width of the strip against a white
background with dots. The strokes
are detailed with a few white spots
amidst concentric circles and arcs.
These images may be interpreted as old tree branches
marred with scales and knots. They may also be perceived
as pebbles having been thrown into a crisscrossing
stream causing a series of ripples to spread.
Similar to the yardage in No. 13, this design
makes use of carefully aligned white squares
with dots for the background and casually
arranged white square rings for detailing the
dominant visual elements. It has also included
another kind of resist motif to enhance visual interest.
The squarish white spots are produced by capping. Each spot is
first outlined with stitches and the stitching thread is drawn up and
knotted. The shaped cloth is then wrapped with a square of paperlined
impermeable material. Its base is bound with thread two or
14b
three times, after which the thread is crisscrossed to the top, bound
again, knotted, and cut. The protected area remains white after dyeing.
The shorter scarf (b) is adorned with six flower heads, each
having six petals. Two of these motifs are individually depicted. The
other four are divided into two pairs, each positioned at one end of
the scarf. Each pair, too, is bound together by a border resembling
the arabic number eight (8) and represented against a ground pattern
made up of interlinking coin motifs. Surprisingly, all these elements
are produced by means of only one method, that which generates
white squares with dark blue dots. Because textural quality is desired
in this work, the scarf has not been pressed flat. Left in this state, the
deeply textured fabric is not only elastic to the touch but also presents
an entirely different visual effect.'1 When it is worn or handled,
each time it is shifted the dense, tiny, and raised jewel-like shapes in
the affected areas would change from predominantly blue to white
or vice versa.
14. TWO SCARVES, Figured silk, (a) 2003, (b) 2002, (a) Shanghai municipality,
(b) Nantong, Jiangsu province. Gift of Dr. Ka Bo Tsang in memory of Mrs. Tsang Ng
Sheung, 2004.68.11, 12, (a) L. 169 cmxW. 28.6 cm, (b) L 132.4 cm x W. 20.1 cm
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