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This banner originally came from Japan. It is a large single piece folded to hang as you see. The overall length is 7metres x 70cm. It is a heavy felt type material with a heavy wove backing and tabs to hang it.
I am curious about its origin, age, symbolism and method of making. I have tried to find out information on this method of applying the gold braid (it is a flat braid).
Any information would be most welcome.

Ian what you may have are panels for a Japanese wedding robe or 'uchikake'. Some of them are quite heavily embroidered, often in two panels. I've been exposed to them but have no particular expertise. You might wish to check around the web using 'uchikake' and 'wedding kimono' as keywords. A good spot to start is the web mall trocadero.com.
Best regards,
Bill H.

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your reply. The item is a banner meant for hanging, not a wedding panel, it is 7 metres long with tabs at the back for hanging the item. The banner is one single piece, but I have folded it in order to hang it, there is a portion of it folded behind that you cannot see. I would think it would have been hung for religeous festivities / occasions.

Regards
Ian

That sheds a slightly different light on it, though pairs birds of any type including the Japanese version of the phoenix shown in your textile are icons of marital bliss. If this was meant only as a tapestry for the wall (I can't bring myself to say 'a hanging at a wedding'), it probably would have graced a marriage or anniversary ceremony in my opinion. But there are others out there who probably have been there and done that in Japan, so I defer to them for the ground truth.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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