Ceight and clean square

Shantou hand-embroidered handkerchiefs are carefully embroidered stitch by stitch. In this column, we will talk about the technique and charm of Shantou hand embroidery, which has been handed down for more than 200 years.

｜What is Shantou City?

Shantou City is located in the southern part of mainland China.In the early 18th centuryIt is an old port town facing the coast where sailing ships called junks docked in the harbor and there was an idyllic atmosphere.Droning work techniques were introduced by Italian missionaries.

｜Embroidery techniques passed down from mother to daughter

Many women in this region were engaged in handicrafts as domestic work. European traditional embroidery techniques were brought to Shantou, and the ancient Chinese designs of phoenixes and dragons were fused with Western sensibilities to establish "Shantou embroidery" as one of the three major embroidery techniques in China.

Women grow up watching their mothers stitch needles from a young age and learn to hold needles by imitation, and by the time they are five years old, they can do simple embroidery by themselves. By the time they are 15 years old, many of them are engaged in embroidery work.

Shantou embroidery requires an embroidery frame made of bamboo or rattan, needles, scissors, and thread. Using only these, the needle is inserted at an astonishingly fast speed, and even the most intricate designs are beautifully finished using more than 100 different embroidery techniques. The technique has been handed down from mother to daughter for more than 200 years.

｜A Wide Variety of Shantou Hand Embroidery Designs

Shantou handkerchiefs show the excellence of handwork. The fact that many of the designs are still the same as when they were brought from Europe gives the handkerchiefs an antique feel. The use of natural fibers makes the handkerchiefs highly absorbent and practical, which is also a major attraction. Unfortunately, with modernization, this tradition has almost completely died out. We have a large selection of such rare Shantou handkerchiefs in a variety of designs and price ranges.

Please take a look at the increasingly rare Shantou handkerchiefs.

Shantou Handkerchief Collection

 

At Classics the Small Luxury, customers who purchase Shantou items priced over 30,000 yen will receive them in the brand's original paulownia box.