Unusual Chinese "100 birds" silk embroidery dating to late 19th century. The execution is charming and playful in a way we haven't seen on any other examples and the green ground is stunning. Profusely embroidered with a huge array of birds, from a giant Phoenix, a stunning Peacock and cranes to tiny swallows, among the foliage of a tree. All on a gorgeous emerald green silk ground with no damages, staining or losses. The colour palette of the embroidery is very sophisticated and makes this really stand out from the crowd. Beautiful corals and pinks amongst the subtlest of blues, greens and purples. Mounted in a black cotton frame, the piece is 138cm x 98cm in it's entirety and the silk is 98cm x 67cm. The silk has pulled slightly to the bottom right from previous hanging and there is minor creasing to the silk. There is one thread loose (on the Phoenix's tail), and another on a leaf that is not detached but baggy, not tight to the ground. Some loose stitching to one corner of the mount. In the images, we have hung on chains from a picture rail, it doesn't have any inbuilt hanging system.