Chrysanthemum Border — Nantong Indigo Panel
A narrow chrysanthemum panel framed by geometric borders, combining the quiet cultural language of the flower with the practical format of an old household textile.
- Object ID
- TA-NT-0009
- Origin
- Nantong · Jiangsu, China
- Period
- c. 1950s
- Dating confidence
- probable
- Material
- Homespun / handspun-style cotton
- Dimensions
- Approx. 157 × 41 cm
- Technique
- Blue resist printing / Lan Yin Hua Bu (蓝印花布) · Traditional narrow-width household cloth
- Pattern
- Chrysanthemum · Geometric border
- Colours
- Indigo-style blue · Natural white
- Washed
- Yes
Object condition
Washed, genuinely worn vintage textile with several small holes, worn areas, fading, surface abrasion, yarn slubs, slight fraying and other age-related marks.
Identification notes
The chrysanthemum (菊花) is one of the traditional Four Gentlemen — plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum — and is associated with longevity, independence and quiet contentment.
Its cultural meaning is strongly linked with Tao Yuanming and the ideal of a life lived with inward freedom rather than worldly ambition.
The surrounding continuous geometric borders add visual rhythm and can also be read within the broader auspicious language of continuity and enduring fortune.
The resist-printed surface is associated with Nantong-area 蓝印花布 / 药斑布; exact dye composition has not been laboratory tested.
Chrysanthemum, quiet independence and continuity
This piece is a useful example of how a modest floral repeat can carry a dense cultural vocabulary without becoming a pictorial narrative.
The narrow width preserves the scale and cadence of the original household cloth rather than translating the motif into a modern factory-width format.
