Silk is the finest, most durable, and arguably the most beautiful of all textile fibers. It has been described by the adage, "silk is to fabric what gold is to metal". All of da'Tanla Mélange's embroideries are made of silk thread crafted entirely by hand by adult women working in traditional silk villages in East Asia according to ancient techniques. Nearly all threads are made of high-quality Japanese-sourced silk embroidered onto either silk or French-sourced cotton substrates. Each individual piece requires between 2 weeks to 18 months or longer to meticulously hand finish. No two pieces are identical. Each piece we sell is beautifully framed and matted. Our gallery carries a mélange of styles, including both Western and traditional Eastern themes: landscapes, flowers, animals, faces, and the surreal. We also offer custom made embroideries which can be contracted for those customers demanding their own unique tapestry creations. We sell directly to the public as well as to interior decorators, corporate clients, non-profit organizations, and collectors. da'Tanla Mélange sells silk embroideries which are amongst the finest contemporary examples of this art form available today from anywhere in the world.

Silk Embroidery: A Brief History

The practice of making embroideries made from silk traces its origins back nearly 25 centuries to China. In ancient times, the domestication of silkworms, a difficult, labor-intensive process, remained a closely guarded secret that gave the Chinese a monopoly on the production of fine silk for many centuries and led to the development of the famed Silk Road. Originally embroideries were used for decorative purposes, dowries, gifts, weddings, and burial robes. During the 14th century, when Ming China was the most resplendent court ever witnessed in East Asia and was also arguably the world's most advanced civilization, the Chinese developed an elaborate visual code that designated an individual's rank within the imperial bureaucracy by means of hand-embroidered rank badges. Palace eunuchs began displaying their positions of power through lavish costume. Chinese customs regarding silk embroideries soon spread to nearby Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, which have been heavily influenced by China throughout history.