Miao Baby Carrier with Bird Motifs

A maroon cloth woven with pale lilac figures and edged with blue trim.

This baby carrier with bird motifs is Miao (Hmong), from Guizhou Province, China, and dates to the 20th century. It is applique cotton & silk. Young Miao girls generally began learning embroidery around age eight or nine, and a baby carrier for a future child was among the first and most important items they made. Mirrored motifs in light mauve and cream repeat across a deep wine-brown field. The arms and hem are bordered in blue and gray patterned bands, with little squares of turquoise. It is 37 inches wide and 30 long.

Repeated, rhythmic and wonderfully busy.