decorative pillows

Quick Links	Request A Product	Site Map
How To Order	Read Our Policies	Pricing
Company Info	Contact Us	Shipping & Delivery

decorative pillows - Some of the blossoms are outlined in gold. The Four Directional Guardians of Buddhist cosmology are symbolized by the traditional small squares (shitenno) appeari_ng in the kesa's four corners. Elements of the allegorical vocabulary of Chinese ceremonial garb appear in this imperial hunting cloak, which is ornamented with some of the many traditional sacred Buddhist symbols that pervade Chinese art. The body of the cloak is a si_lk tapestry fabric woven in the kesi technique. Over its ground of yellow, a color the Manchu rulers reserved for their sole use, twines a graceful, naturalistic network of many-colored lotuses, stems, and leaves. The religious and allegorical allusions of the design begin in the high collarband, where an angular interlace pattern signifies the endless knot, a symbol for Buddha, and the circular rebus incorporates characters for happiness and long life. This message of salvation has been interpreted with technical virtuosity. The dalmatic is done in a flat tapestry weave, but its design imitates piled Italian velvets. The fabric panels also include embroidery accentuating details of the design,

suggesting that this unusual combination of techniques was an effort to achieve a richness of surface normally associated with more costly imported textiles. The Buddhist priest's robe, or kesa, is usually made up of seven to twenty-five narrow panels (jo) composed of patchwork squares and assembled into a large, flat rectangle, which, somewhat like a toga, drapes under the left arm and fastens by two corners on the right shoulder. According to legend, its original shape and composition derive from the fine gold kesa that Buddha's mother made for him. Upon Buddha's death a devout disciple carried the kesa to a mountain and there immured himself to await the coming of the future Buddha Maitreya and the end of the world. Two red front panels depict paired symbols (top to bottom): the wheel of the law, indicating life's endless cycle, and the conch shell, whose sound summons all to worship; the umbrella of state, for incorruptibility, and the canopy of the monarch, who shelters all living things; the sacred vase, containing the water of life, and the tree peony, for summer and prosperity; the endless knot and the paired fish, a rebus for abundance.

decorative pillows Huge Savings, Professional Staff, About Us, Return to Main Page,