Chinese Minority

A baby carrier, its panel thick with silk birds and butterflies. Textiles of China’s minority peoples here come mostly from Guizhou Province, made by the Miao (Hmong), Ge Jia, Buyi, Dong and Zhuang in the 20th century. Baby carriers are the heart of the group, embroidered with birds, butterflies and swirls, motifs widely understood as protective for the child inside. Miao carriers come from Huaxi, Liping, Danzai County and the Wudang Mountains, and Ge Jia carriers show bronze drum and swirl motifs beside Ge Jia batik panels.

A Hundred Bird textile and Miao festival jackets, a Buyi carrier from near Anshun, a Zhuang carrier from Yunnan and a Dong Taoist shaman’s robe with dragons round out the collection. Frame a carrier panel at eye level in a hallway, where the stitching can be studied up close. Few textiles were made with more care, or for a more demanding client.