Featured Help with some pretty embroidery...

These pieces are 14" round each. I assume they are Chinese. I'd love some suggestions...

 

Lovely, Marianne. Yes they are Chinese, hand embroidered on silk, with a brocade surround.

 

Just "for pretty" I'd imagine, although they may have had a purpose originally. Around here they'd be in danger of winding up as the center panel of a quilt....

 

They were a perfect souvenir, didn't take up much space in a suitcase. They still come over as souvenirs.
Overhere they were used as doilies, mostly on sidetables, underneath vases and lamps. The Chinese may have the same use for them.
Here in The Netherlands older Dutch-Indonesians also have them underneath Indonesian sculptures, etc. Most Dutch-Indonesians originally came from the coastal parts of Indonesia, where there were Chinese settlements.

 

They sure went to a lot of trouble and time with their doilies! I wouldn't set anything on top of these works of art!

 

I think one point with something like this is that an older round Chinese embroidery piece is likely to have much more careful detailed work (and value) than a recent one. Possible that the recent ones coming over are machine made. So even though they are still making this type of souvenir, value might be significantly different if these are from, say, the 1940's, etc.

They are framed, right? Can you post a few close-ups of the work, and of the brocade? Maybe of the back of the piece too. Could help with dating.

 

Here they are...

 

Thanks for posting additional photos. They seem to be nicely framed, the frames looks sort of 60s/70s. I would think that these would have decorative value at least. Sort of a vintage frame with a lovely silk Asian embroidery. Nice that they are round. You don't see the framed round ones too often.

If they are stain free, could see these at my local consignment store framed as they are, for around $75-100 each. They are quite nice.

 

I really appreciate your knowledge and opinion. I think the frames are from the early 70's. I believe the embroidered pieces were purchased and put away for years. When she decorated in the early 70's with an 'Asian' flare she got them out and had them framed. She had wonderful taste. She never pinched pennies on decor.
So if I want to sell them is a consignment store the best way??

 

If she had them custom framed, that probably wasn't inexpensive.

Unframed, the older ones online seemed to be asking prices of anywhere from $20-70, but yours seemed quite nicely framed from the photos which is how I got my price estimate for retail. As far as using a retail consignment store, it really depends on the store, how upscale, where you live, what kinds of things are popular as to whether they would take them and how they would price them. Some stores might price them at quite a bit less. It's tricky.

Another important point is that with most consignment stores, you only get half of what they sell it for. 70's look (the frames) and Asian sells reasonably well where I live, if it was me, I would probably try Craigslist or my local Nextdoor online for the pair at $125, but I am comfortable with Craigslist, and live in a generally safe area. If you are not comfortable with that, you might have to accept less money, by using a consignment store and letting them take their cut. You could certainly bring them to a store and ask ahead of time what they would price them at, also be sure to understand what your take is, and go from there. Who knows, in a wealthy area, they might even price them higher. The store I use to consign would split them up, pricing individually, so you might even have a situation where one sells and the other does not. All of these things to consider.

Best of luck.

 

Thank you for your info. I don't think I will sell them. I know the custom frames were expensive alone. If they are only worth $125 or so for the pair I'd rather keep them. They are pretty and will work with my decor. I love the way they are framed. Thank you for helping me decide.

 

The only thing I don't like is that anti glare glass that was wildly in vogue in the 70s. To me, it dulls the piece. YMMV.