Title
Set of four altar cloths
Year/Period
Early 20th century
Region
China
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Gross Measurement: Please refer to parts
Accession No.
2014-00984
Collection of
The lower panel of these altar cloth (tok wi in Baba Malay) depicts a scene with figures who appear to be fighting each other. It is also possible that this is a re-enactment of a battle in Chinese opera. The upper panel depicts a large embroidered peony with gold wrapped thread and couching flanked by two multi-coloured phoenixes. The upper panel is trimmed by tassels and beads. Embroidered fret patterns, coins and flaming pearls decorate the border of the cloth. Altar cloths are textiles hung on the front of Chinese altars during ceremonial occasions. These altar cloths are a set of four and would have been used during celebratory occasions due to the bright colour scheme.
