This is an embroidered rectangular panel that could be an altar cloth. At the top of the piece is a pair of phoenix in flight facing each other and separated by a floral motif in the centre. The phoenix is an auspicious mythical creature that symbolised beauty, grace, high virtue, the Bride and the Empress. These motifs are stitched using gold thread embroidery. Below is an embroidered scene of Chinese figures in a garden setting. These are done using mainly coloured silk threads. Auspicious animals such as the bat, which symbolise prosperity and the deer and crane, which symbolise longevity are also depicted in the scene. Such altar hangings were used to drape the ancestral altar tables in the traditional Peranakan household.
