Textile fragment of brocaded silk in silks and gilt paper strips, Japan, first half of 19th centuryTextile fragment of brocaded silk in silks and gilt paper strips. Pattern in yellow and straw colour on a dark blue ground. Large intersecting squares with wide borders filled with fret work. The squares contain phoenixes or dragons enclosed by scrolled and interlacing ornament, and on a ground filled with diaper or pairs of doves and clouds. At the points of intersection are large compartments of undulating forms, each enclosing a rectangle within which is a cash device with a flower lozenge surrounded by blossom and foliage.