Terms and conditions of use
Gold thread embroidered hanging
(Shwe jee doe kalaga)
(c. 1900)
Medium
cotton, felt, metal (sequins), gilt-thread, glass (beads), (embroidery, appliqué)
Measurements
(165.0 × 440.5 cm)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Marg Stephens and family, 2025
Gallery location
Level 1, NGV International
About this work
The production of large, embroidered textile works in Myanmar
started around 1850 and reached its height around 1900.
Known in Burmese as shwe jee doe kalaga (gold thread
embroidered hanging), the textile works were used to decorate
palaces and monasteries, often serving as backdrops to
recitations and performances of the Buddha’s Jataka tales.
Gradually, their function expanded into secular realms, where
they were used to divide rooms, cover doorways, decorate
bullock carts, drape over coffins and provide photographic
backdrops.
The inscription at the top of this piece proclaims, ‘When
Buddha’s law is practised’ and illustrates the ‘Nemi Jataka’.
The tapestry depicts Nemi’s palaces and royal life, and below
his journey through the Nga-Ye Gyi Shit Htat (Eight Stories of
Hell), each shown with an inscribed panel and an illustrated
warning against moral decay.
The Eight Stories of Hell
- Where you will suffer through torture and murder until your
destiny ends. - Where you will be measured before being cut and shaved
like a piece of wood. - Where you are tormented, hit and stabbed by solid and
sharp metals. - Where you will be burned and forced to hear the shouts of
those in agony. - Where you will be immersed in smoke, with requests for help
ignored. - Where your body will be pierced by an iron bar and grilled
alive in fire. - Where you climb a mountain with spear heads in the ground,
then are turned upside down onto the spears. - Where living in flames and being punished are combined.