Rectangular green silk satin textile embroidered with polychrome silk threads decorated with Songzi Guanyin (送子觀音), China, 19th centuryThe scene depicting Guanyin, goddess of mercy and protector of children, here in the form of Songzi Guanyin riding a qilin and holding a child in her arms at the center of a procession of children holding banners and a canopy on the terrace of a garden planted with pierced rocks, peony flowers, magnolias, orchids, bindweed and others, where butterflies and bats fly under stylized clouds. 49 x 196 cmGuanyin shown here holding a small boy is Songzi, the child-bearing Guanyin. Male children were extremely important to the Confucian family structure. They ensured not only the continuity of the family and clan, but also the continuity of the generations that perpetuated the rituals of ancestor worship. Devotees prayed to the child-giver Guanyin for healthy offspring and intelligent male heirs. 十九世纪绿缎地彩绣" 送子观音 "图