Overview

This finely hand-beaded textile panel features a dense field of small glass seed beads worked into floral, avian, and animal motifs — including a stylized deer figure — against a dark velvet-like ground, framed by a scalloped decorative border. The technique and motif vocabulary suggest a likely Southeast Asian origin, our best educated estimate rather than a confirmed attribution. This piece is understood to have been personally acquired by Tom and Sherry Wilson during their travels, as part of the Craft World Tours legacy.

Design & Craftsmanship

Function & Form: A long, narrow beaded panel, 36.5″L x 7″W, finished with metal hook fasteners at both ends, suggesting an original function as a wearable or mountable component rather than a purely flat decorative textile.
Artistry & Ornamentation: Dense multicolor glass seed-bead work depicting large florals, birds, butterflies, and a golden deer figure, bordered on both long edges by a scalloped “eye” motif band in blue, white, and gold beads — a level of density and figural detail consistent with fine regional bead-embroidery traditions of Southeast Asia.
Structural Base: Dark fabric backing with a section of later reinforcement/repair fabric visible on the reverse; two metal hook fasteners at the corners.

Condition Report

Surface Condition: Beadwork is largely intact and vivid, with some wear and minor losses likely at the corners consistent with age and handling. A section of newer reinforcement fabric has been added to the backing.
Structural Integrity: The panel is stable for display, heavy with bead weight, and substantial in hand. This item is sold “as-is” with all associated patina and wear inherent to its age and history as part of the Craft World Tours Collection.

hand-beaded panel

Antique Hand-Beaded Textile Panel, Likely Southeast Asian, Floral & Deer Motifs