Panel, cream-coloured plain-weave silk with hand-painted floral design, China, Qing dynasty, Jiaqing period, ca. 1810 Panel of cream-coloured woven silk, with a red selvage. It is hand-painted with detached bunches of flowers in bright colours. Silk textiles decorated by painting were imported to Britain and elsewhere in the West from China during the 18th and 19th centuries. They were used as furnishing fabrics and as dress material. The designs and colours were thought to appeal to Westerners, but this type of textile was not used by the Chinese themselves. This piece has survived unused.