Baby Carrier

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-baby carriers

Culture Dong

Date20th Century

Made AtGuizhou Province, China, Asia

Made AtHunan Province, China, Asia

MediumCotton and silk

Dimensions13 1/2 × 21 3/4 in. (34.3 × 55.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Long Shung and Anne Shih

Object number2016.13.39

DescriptionIt is likely that the baby carrier’s embroidery in the middle section was made in the Batik technique. Miao girls learn to make textiles as early as six years old. By the time a girl reaches the marriageable age of sixteen she will possess the skills to make clothing and textiles needed for herself and her family throughout life. With guidance from older sisters, mothers and grandmothers, numerous complex embellishing embroidery and dyeing techniques are learned as are the foundations for producing textiles. These basics include picking and preparing cottons, raising silk worms and extracting their silk, producing yarns, dyeing fabrics and various special treatments to create textured, shiny and stiffened fabrics. As they have become available, many Miao have adopted the use of commercial fabrics, silks, dyes, plastic sequins and other embellishments, using them in combination with traditional techniques.

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