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Here is a question for The Forum. I am attaching a JPEG of a blanket that I identify as Gejia, but I have not found the phoenix and flower pattern in the books that I have checked. Is this pattern Gejia?

Hello, Pamela I feel the same as you on this one.

However I've learnt over the years to not to be too definite when there is an element of doubt.

I have not seen a blanket like it, though I would say from the style of embroidery it was Miao, maybe from Shidong or a little further east.
Gejia embroidery patterns also tend to mimic their batik ones which these are unlike (although not always!).

Apologies,

Martin

The thread engendered by my simple query on the baby blanket, whether or not Gejia is what The Textile Forum is all about….A wide-ranging discussion from a group of committed enthusiasts with much information to offer.

I am indebted to Andrew and Chris for their photos, each with proper phoenix (es?) and accompanying infill. To address Andrew's comment that the blanket may well be made for the textile trade within the past five years, I will say that I purchased this blanket in 2005 and sent it for conservation. The conservation report states, “ The blanket combines gray, blue, purple and bronze-colored embroidery floss on a blue-gray plain woven ground fabric. The blanket is in good condition overall. After viewing the reverse of the piece, it appears that many of the colors of the embroidery floss have faded [from the original gray, blue, purple and bronze-colored silk floss to a more uniform gold/bronze]. In addition, a line of discoloration follows the horizontal fold across the textile.” When I picked up the blanket the conservationist mentioned that the blanket was extremely dirty and required much more vacuuming than the pieces that she usually handles. I do not think that this blanket was made within the past five years. Judging from the amount of fading present I would suggest a mid-20th century date.

The extraordinary similarity of design motifs of the phoenix and floral infill in my blanket, Chris's Huangping BC and Andrew's GeJia BC raise further questions of historical relevance. I am now thinking about the correlation of design motifs with language and genetic markers used in population genetics. Eventually I intend to write something about this and send it to The Textile Forum or an appropriate journal, e.g. the new journal, Textiles Asia. But for now, and not spending too much time I want to add to this very informative Textile Forum thread by asking yet another question. Do the Gejia and Miao languages and historical origins differ considerably? If they share the same villages peacefully, is there much intermarriage? I think that Chris's rumination about a girl from one ethnic group marrying into another is right on, and I wonder about the genetic admixtures within these areas. Here I'm thinking particularly about the Raojia now being classified as part of the Yao ethnic group. And this thought line brings up questions about how accurately one can distinguish one group from another by relying on the clothing. I will continue to think about this and I hope to come up with something better formulated, time permitting.

Stimulated by Chris' Huangping Gejia conflation, I would like to post another baby carrier that I bought about five years ago which I thought was a Dong carrier, but the shape and borders of the carrier are classic Huangping-style Miao. The carrier panel is a purple cotton warp and weft with beige cotton discontinuous supplemental weft forming the design. The outer borders are silk. The fragment of the carrier straps still attached to the central panel is brilliant indigo-blue cotton. These indigo straps had been hidden by a newer black 3” border that the conservator and I agreed to remove. This permitted the T-portion of the BC to be unfolded and extended. The conserver has noted, “ It is not strictly correct to refer to the panel as 'brocade'. The term supplemental refers to the fact that the design is woven in as an added weft during the weaving process, but the purple portion of the cloth has a whole structure of its own, independent of the beige design. A discontinuous weft is introduced by the weave only in the areas where decoration is wanted. It stops and starts, rather than continues from selvedge to selvedge on the back of the cloth.” I have come across similar butterfly and bird motifs in textiles from south of the Chinese border, and I would welcome Susan Stem's input here. This BC is certainly aesthetically beautiful. I gasped when I first looked at it and have never ceased to marvel at the skill of the weaving. I welcome the combinations, but it is such a mixture, of styles, of techniques. Is this new synthesis what we might term “art” rather than “craft”?

Thanks to all, Andrew, Chris, Iain and Martin, and especially Pamela, for this thought-provoking excursion. Wouldn't it be nice if some day we could all meet face to face? Maybe Paris or London? A hard copy Textile Forum. And we all bring 5-10 pieces that we would like to share.
Ann