Theatrical Backdrop
date: label: Accession Date
content: 8 May 1963
name: label: Donor Name
content: Fine Arts Hall
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: "Twelve cotton tab loops sewn at top for hanging. Rectanigular, yellow satin with yellow cotton backing glued in place. Embroidered to show tree trunk with 2 flowering vines coiled around its length, running from lower left to upper right. In middle of trunk is perched a peacock, three deep red flowers in upper right." From Anthropology Conservation Lab treatment report of 2006: The almost square embroidered backdrop is constructed of machine stitched silk with a plain woven yellow backing also machine stitched. The perimeter has a narrow band of blue silk machine stitched to the backing and the yellow silk. The backdrop is embroidered in many colors, and depicts a large peacock sitting in a tree with flowering vines and large red fruits. The blue border is embroidered with silver wrapped threads forming stems for pink and white flowers. The blue silk border, which is actually separately catalogued as number E401380, was cut into four strips and machine stitched with blue thread to the backdrop E400430 for exhibition purposes. It appears that the burlap strips were added subsequently with darker thread and larger stitches along the top and bottom forming casings along the top and bottom edge of the silk backdrop. The current condition of the backdrop differs from the original catalog description which notes that there are "twelve cotton tab loops sewn at top for hanging" and a "yellow cotton backing glued in place." There are no tabs for hanging and the existing backing is not glued in place. It is probable that the original backing was removed and a new backing was stitched to the added blue silk border E401380 around the perimeter, and the inner edge of the border was stitched to the yellow silk. Then the burlap was added to the back top and bottom and machine stitched over the border following the first line of stitching on the inner edge creating a new line of stitching near the outer edge. The backdrop was exhibited in NHB Exhibit Hall 7, case 1. It was removed from exhibit in 2005. After consultation with the curator, Dr. Paul Taylor, the blue border # E401380 has been left attached to # E400430. Note also, Cat. #E401374 was made to be displayed with E400430 as the side drops.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 26 Mar 2015
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Taiwan, China, Asia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 242417
label: USNM Number
content: E400430-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Backdrop
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 302 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 307 cm