Delicately rendered Chinoiserie figures, fantastic birds and fenced pagodas mingle on this panel along with the traditional elements of Queen Anne embroideries. Typical of early eighteenth-century English needlework, spot motifs are irregularly placed against a false quilted vermicelli ground. Although an Eastern aesthetic prevails, decidedly Western-looking squirrels sit perched on leaves and the result is a feeling of subtle exoticism. This sensibility illustrates the ongoing influence of English pattern books featuring Chinoiserie ornamentation such as the well-known Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing by John Stalker and George Parker (1688). These publications supplied imagery throughout the decorative arts; when used for needlework, designs were freely exchanged. A bird worked on an embroidered panel in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum (T.15-1961) is identical to one of the birds found here while the other motifs differ. This embroidery, probably from a petticoat, reflects the English appropriation of Chinese design, retains the original rich colors of the silk threads and demonstrates the refinement for which Queen Anne needlework is renowned.

The mate to this panel (also available) was exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Museum in Enter the Dragon: The Beginnings of English Chinoiserie, 1680-1710, December 22, 2005—April 30, 2006.