The Peacock & Peony Silk Shawl

Vintage Japanese silk shawl woven in pure silk with a peacock and peony motif, rendered in deep teal damask with metallic gold embroidery.

The ground is a self-patterned silk damask — a weaving technique in which the pattern is formed by the interaction of different weave structures in the same thread, producing a fabric that shifts between matte and lustrous depending on the angle of light. The teal ground, known in Japanese as seiheki (青碧) — blue-green, the colour of deep water — is characteristic of ceremonial silk woven for formal presentation wear.

Against this ground, a peacock — kujaku (孔雀) in Japanese, a bird associated with protection and the dispersal of negative influence — spreads across the cloth in raised metallic embroidery. Beside it, peonies in white gold thread: the flower of prosperity, botan (牡丹), which appears across centuries of Japanese and Chinese textile tradition as a symbol of rank and abundance.

This piece was woven as a garment textile and has been reimagined by Renaras as a wearable object. The silk is 100% pure. The embroidery is applied by hand.

Dimensions: 180 × 70 cm. Spot clean only. Avoid direct sunlight and moisture.