Traditional Chinese embroidery

Mirror Case with Lunar Scene, Qing dynasty, 19th century. Embroidered silk gauze. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Embroiery in China has a long history dating back to the invention of silk four thousand years ago. It is known that the ceremonial garments of the tribal leaders of that time were decorated with embroidered patterns of the sun, the moon, stars, weed, fire and other auspicious symbols.
To date the earliest survived embroidery works are the two 4th century BC pieces unearthed from the Chu Tombs. The patterns of dragon, phoenix, tiger and beast embroidered on silk appear natural and lifelike which gives full credit to the achivements of embroidery art in the ancient China.
The art of embroidery further developed during Qin and Han dynasties. Embroideries of that time represent the artistic style as well as the high level of embroidery and mostly have patterns of ripple-like clouds, soaring phoenix, galloping holy beasts, ribbon-shaped flowers, geometric figures etc, using basically locking method with neat stitching, compact compostion and smooth lines.

Japanese hand embroidery

photo source

Until 1980, when pieces of Japanese embroidery were exhibited at the national seminar of the Embroiderers' Guild of America in DalIas, Texas, its embroidery was hardly known outside Japan. One of the things that makes Japanese embroidery unique is the fact that it uses silk threads that come in up to 500 different colors. The pattern, the season and the age group of the person who will use the finished product all come into consideration when choosing the right colors.

Crafts of China: horsetail hair embroidery

Horsetail hair embroidery, source

Every ethnic group of China has its own unique way of designing and adorning their costumes and textiles. An ethnic minority of the Sui (Shui) counts just about 400 thousand people. For centuries a special traditional type of embroidery has been kept alive by the Sui women. This unique kind of embroidery uses horsetail hair for the needlework.

Crafts of China: beautiful enamelware

Vase, Qing dynasty, 18th century, Cloisonné enamel. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Enameling is a technique of fusing powdered glass to a bronze, copper or sometimes silver body by firing. The powder melts, flows and then hardens to a smooth, durable coating. Such metal vessels with a glassy coating on their surfaces are known as enamelwares. Enamelware which has the sturdiness of metal, the smoothness and corrosion-resistance of glass, is practical and beautiful. To day the earliest known enamel object made in China is the Tang Dynasty (618-907) gold-inlaid silver-base enamel mirror kept in the Shosoin Repository of Nara, Japan. Chinese enamels can be classified today into cloisonné, champleve, and painted enamels according to their production methods. In terms of bases there are gold-base, copper-base, porcelain-base, glass-base and purple-clay enamel. Among them the copper-base enamel is the most popular because the copper price is lower and enamel is easier to adhere to the copper surface.

Crafts of Japan: Iki Ningyo realistic dolls

These heads that once belonged to life sized dolls look slightly spooky and disturbing, so realistically looking they are. No wonder, Iki-Ningyo literally means "true-to-life dolls" and it is hard to believe that they were made in the 19th century. These extremely real dolls were used for creating scenes from a fashionable plays or well-known historical events. It was a popular amusement in the late 19th century Japan. The figures were modeled with absolute attention to character and realism. The heads were made of wood covered in crushed shell paste and had glass eyes, ivory teeth, individually inset human hair and eyelashes. These figures were not always executed for exhibition purposes, but also for the private viewer.
A few more examples of the 19th century Iki-Ningyo heads from the Tokyo National Museum collection. Looking at these hyper-realistic heads one can't help but admire the skills of the craftsmen.