Ge Jia Baby Carrier with Bat and Bird Motifs

A big cream-on-black T-shaped panel of symmetrical scrolls and mirrored creatures.

This baby carrier with bat and bird motifs is Ge Jia, from Guizhou Province, China, and dates to the 20th century. It is cotton. Making a carrier involved every step from raising silkworms and producing silk to dyeing, embroidering, brocading and appliqué, and the work reflected a girl's love, devotion and creativity. Intertwined spirals and curling animal-like forms in cream stand out against a black ground. They are arranged in mirrored pairs along the center, inside a framed border of stepped lines. It is 26.6 inches wide and 30.2 long.

Symmetry carried off with total conviction.