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A KESI TAPESTRY (A 'Buddhist' Panel with Kesi tapestry craft) QIANGLONG PERIOD (1736-1795) 151 x 69.3cm This silk panel is manufactured by the traditional weaving craft of Kesi, or 'cut silk' which utilizes raw silk as the warp (the main threads or horizontal threads) and processed silk as the weft (vertical threads). Contrary to other woven silk fabrics which employ full weft threads, craftsmen have to constantly change the weft threads with threads of specific colours (which are attached to different shuttles) to finish a panel. On the panel, three seated Buddhas are depicted in the central area, Buddha Shakyamuni (the present Buddha) in the middle, Buddha Dipamkara (the past Buddha) on the left, and Buddha Maitreya (the future Buddha) on the right. Various motifs are indications of Buddhist belief and wishing for longevity. Encircled by auspicious cirrus clouds, a sun and a moon shine at the very top of the panel, while eight flying apsaras hold various offerings in the sky. Below the Buddhas, Ananda and Kasyapa, Shakyamuni's distinguished disciples and attendants, are further followed by the Eighteen Arhat and the Four Heavenly Kings. The inscription on the top of the panel reads wu liang shou zun fo, which may mean 'The Honorable Buddha Amitayus'. This composition was very popular during the Qing dynasty, and some were initially displayed in the imperial palaces. A larger Kesi panel of identical content is currently in the collection of the Chinese Museum in the Château de Fontainebleau in France and another in the Summer Palace (Yi He Yuan). Another panel of identical composition but made with normal silk weaving craft is collected as 'Buddha Amitofo' in the V&A Museum in London. Literature: A similar piece in the V&A museum.