Tang Red 17 Magnolia Shadow Yun Brocade Bag

Your Tang Heritage Bag will include:

1. Gold Metal Authenticity Card (To Certify A Tang Heritage Original)

2. Unique Engraved Serial Number

3. Complimentary Premium Gift Packaging

The magnolia is called yulan (玉兰) in Chinese, the jade orchid, and it has been planted at the gates of palaces and scholars' houses since the Tang dynasty because it flowers before its own leaves arrive, opening on bare wood at the very start of spring. Placed with begonia, peony and osmanthus it forms the rebus yutang fugui (玉堂富贵), a jade hall and lasting honour, which is why it appears so often on wedding furniture and dowry chests. Wen Zhengming, painting and writing in Ming Suzhou, described the tree in flower as ranks of moon maidens. The Tang Red 17 Magnolia Shadow Yun Brocade Bag holds that image in a quiet celadon and ivory palette, and it is made to be kept.

The Motif · Magnolia Shadow (玉兰)

Sprays of magnolia rise inside a gold ogee lattice, each spray carrying open blossoms, a bud and a fan of green leaves, with small bees suspended in the spaces between. The lattice is the older device here, a Ming textile convention for holding a repeating botanical subject in order without stiffening it, and it gives the pattern its wallpaper calm. Ivory petals sit against a pale celadon ground with the leaves in two greens, so the whole panel stays within a narrow tonal range. It is a pattern that reveals itself slowly and never raises its voice.

Yun Brocade Weaving

Yun brocade (大运锦) is a Suzhou figured brocade woven on jacquard looms, in which the lattice, the blossom and the leaf are each carried by their own set of pattern wefts. Building a botanical subject this way is considerably harder than building a geometric one, because a petal has to shade from cream into ivory across only a few threads, and the weaver has no way to correct a colour once the shed has closed. The gold of the lattice is a continuous thread run across the full width of the cloth, which is what gives it that unbroken sheen.

Woven pattern behaves differently from printed pattern with age. The colour cannot fade unevenly the way a surface pigment does, because it is the thread itself, and the slight relief of the blossoms remains legible under the hand. Each panel is cut to place a full magnolia spray on the face of the bag, then bound in cowhide at every edge.

Key Features

• The jade orchid. Magnolia (玉兰) flowers on bare wood before its leaves, and has stood for purity and a clean beginning since the Tang dynasty.
• A jade hall and lasting honour. The magnolia carries the rebus yutang fugui (玉堂富贵), traditionally given at weddings and new homes.
• Wen Zhengming's moon maidens. The motif takes its name from the Ming master's poem on the magnolia in flower.
• A Ming lattice, held in gold. The ogee framework is a classical textile device for ordering a botanical repeat without stiffening it.
• Woven, not printed. Every petal is shaded thread by thread, so the colour cannot lift or crack with wear.
• Structured to hold its shape. A cowhide frame, bound edges and base studs keep the square silhouette upright when the bag is set down.

Premium Materials

• Premium cowhide leather, used for the body, the rolled top handle and the bound edges, chosen for its close grain and its ability to hold a square silhouette.
• Yun brocade (大运锦) panels, a Suzhou figured brocade, used across the front, back and gusset. 
• Light gold-tone hardware, ring links at the handle, side rings for the strap and protective studs at the base, weighted rather than hollow.

Product Details

• Dimensions: Width 17cm, Depth 9cm, Height 16cm
• Handle height: 8.5cm, measuring 24.5cm to the top of the handle
• Weight: 0.52kg
• Exterior: Yun brocade panels framed in premium cowhide leather
• Interior: Main compartment with a concealed zip pocket
• Carry: Rolled top handle, with a detachable adjustable strap for shoulder and crossbody wear 
• Hardware: Light gold-tone, ring links, side rings and base studs
• Colourways: Ivory White (米白)

Every Bag Is One of a Kind

Each panel is cut by hand from a woven length, which means no two bags carry the pattern in exactly the same position. The magnolia spray on your bag may sit a little higher, lower or fuller than the one photographed, and the colour may read differently under warm light and daylight, while the overall aesthetic stays faithful to what you see. Measurements are taken by hand, so a variance of 1 to 2 cm is normal. These are the marks of a piece made by people rather than machines alone.

Authenticity and Craft

Every Tang Heritage piece arrives with a metal authenticity card, engraved with its own unique serial number and logged in our records, verifiable directly with us at any time. It is your assurance that what you carry is genuine, traceable, and made to be kept. For the length of your life, and perhaps for the generations that follow.