How was this made?
By Christopher Smith '22
Weft-faced means that it was made by crosswise threads rather than lengthwise yarns. Here is a video of how a weft-faced textile like this was made:
In the video, the threads are pulled taut. Then the vertical threads that are to be behind the horizontal threads are pulled back and separated. Then the horizontal thread is passed through the gap. This process is then repeated.
Repetition is common in textiles because of the technology used. The repeating unit for this textile contains a mirrored image of the man subduing a lion.
Polychrome means many colors. This effect was obtained by using coloring agents on silk threads. For example, copper was used for green and cobalt for blue. Polychrome silks may have originated in China in the 1st to 4th centuries during the Han and Jin dynasties. In the Chinese five-color scheme, the five colors are red, black, blue, yellow, and white. However, what we see in this textile is the Jin silk variation of the five-color scheme, which colors are red, dark blue, dark green, dark yellow, and tan.