This is a white beaded panel with beaded tassels on each end. Phoenixes and blue peonies decorate the panel, with smaller flowers and leaves filling in the background. The technique employed to create a panel like this is known as netted beadwork. It is a technically demanding method of beading where there are many different threads and columns of beads, with each thread passing diagonally through beads to produce “diamond-like” patterns. Netted technique is particularly popular with beadwork from Penang and Sumatra. This panel would have been likely made for the occasion of a wedding, and might have adorned the carved frontal beams of the wedding bed.
