A PAIR OF JAPANESE SILVER THREAD TEXTILE PANELS

A PAIR OF JAPANESE SILVER THREAD TEXTILE PANELS
EDO/MEIJI, 19TH CENTURY

The long rectangular panels decorated with writhing dragons amongst scrolling clouds, all rendered in silver thread against the warm orange silk ground; the reverse inscribed Jūmotsu Hōunō Saigoku Kuyō-jo Kuni-Chū Seishu (roughly translating as 'Temple offering dedicated by the local group for the thirty-three station Saigoku pilgrimage, provided by benefactor thirteen'); 416cm x 57cm. (2)

The Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage is the oldest and most prestigious circuit featuring thirty-three Buddhist temples in the Kansai region of Japan, all dedicated to Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.