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- Mr Wang Haoran (Left – top row) with his grandfather, a K’o-ssu master with employees of the workshop.
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- An example of K’o-ssu made on a dress for fashion Chinese brand Ne-Tiger in mr Wang Haoran’s workshop in Nantong.
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- An example of K’o-ssu in this replica of Butterfly and Flower motif by Song era (960-1279) K’o-ssu master Zhu Kerou.
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- K’o-ssu craftwoman at work in mr Wang Haoran’s workshop in Nantong.
K’o-ssu – also written kesi – or Chinese silk tapestry, is a complex traditional Chinese weaving technique which had its heyday during the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. Today there are less than 100 people working across China in this area. Frequently used to make clothes for imperial families and to reproduce famous Chinese paintings, nowadays this little known craft faces extinction due to lack of demand. However, there are signs of renewed interest, and to learn more about this precious technique, Nicely Made in China travelled to “textile town”, Nantong in Jiangsu province, to visit a young K’o-ssu maker, Mr. Wang Haoran.
