Kang or furniture cover

18th century

This textile consists of three sewn together sections of cut-velvet fabric with polychrome layered-weft pattern; the entire piece of fabric is lined with yellow silk, which is not necessarily original to the piece. A large, full-faced lotus blossom with a golden seed pod at the middle appears in the center of the design. The rest of the surface is covered with a scrolling leaf design punctuated by profile lotus flower-heads that have golden-edged seed pods at their centers. Ten large bats flit among the flower design. Two rectangular bands edge the design; the inner border consists of geometric kui-dragon patterns composed of units of two facing dragons. The outside border consists of swastika lattice made up of paired swastikas in mirror image. The borders add an archaistic flavor to the design.