Hundred Flowers and Hundred Birds in Late Spring and Early Summer, Jimbei Kawashima II, Japanese Room (1)

'A peacock displaying its feathers in full splendour', detail from the Japanese wall tapestry

The Japanese Room is regarded by many as an artistic highlight of the Peace Palace. This fairy-like space lives up to its name with a wall covering with six large silk gobelins, a valuable gift from the Japanese government. These tapestries were designed by the Japanese artist Jimbei Kawashima II. The were inspired by the French gobelin art yet woven in another, very delicate and laborious, technique in which the use of a fine-spun silk thread makes the warp and woof almost invisible.

Kawashima's work portrays a paradise of birds, flowers, blossoms and plants. The weaving of this 90 m2 wall tapestry made from valuable Gôshû silk required the effort of 46.800 dyers and weavers for nearly five years.

Carnegie Foundation | Photo collection