The range of textures and colours in this depiction of a preening jay on a gnarled pine branch gives the embroiderers an excellent opportunity to display their skills. The markings on this bird are closer to the Eurasian Jay than the Japanese Jay. The design may have been found in some book of foreign book of birds, or the embroiderer may simply have adapted the colour scheme for effect. (Exhibition number 11)
Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 9 November 2012-27 January 2013, Threads of Silk and Gold: Ornamental Textiles from Meiji Japan, Clare Pollard, ed. (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2012), no. 11 p. 104, illus. pp. 40 & 104
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