Chrysanthemum Medallions — Nantong Indigo Textile
A square-format household textile built from two narrow panels, with radiating chrysanthemum medallions that combine longevity, inward independence and the round symbolism of reunion.
- Object ID
- TA-NT-0010
- Origin
- Nantong · Jiangsu, China
- Period
- c. 1950s–1960s
- Dating confidence
- probable
- Material
- Homespun cotton
- Dimensions
- Approx. 85 × 85 cm
- Technique
- Blue resist printing / Lan Yin Hua Bu (蓝印花布) · Hand-joined household textile
- Pattern
- Chrysanthemum medallion · Geometric border · Scattered flowers
- Colours
- Indigo-style blue · Natural white
- Washed
- Yes
Object condition
Washed vintage condition with several small holes, thinning, fading, surface wear and an old centre seam. The piece is made from two narrow cotton panels joined by hand.
Identification notes
The large circular flowers are chrysanthemum-style medallions. Beyond longevity, chrysanthemum imagery can suggest simplicity, independence and inner peace.
The circular medallion form also lends itself to the idea of 团圆 — reunion and completeness — while surrounding borders extend the visual sense of continuity.
The old centre seam is structurally important evidence: larger household textiles were often assembled from narrow loom-woven lengths rather than produced as a single factory-width sheet.
The surface is catalogued as traditional blue resist printing; exact dye composition has not been laboratory tested.
Narrow loom widths assembled into a complete field
The centre seam makes the making logic of the object visible: two narrower cloth widths become one larger domestic textile.
This construction detail is as important to the Atlas record as the chrysanthemum motif because it links visual design to the material limits of older household weaving.
