Towards the end of the 19th century, Western interest in Japan extended to plant life. Grasses and flowering plants that had never played a leading role in Western textiles were depicted in lifelike motifs, still in their natural form, as if they had just been picked. This is a striking example. Extremely sophisticated weaving techniques are employed on an ivory-colored silk-satin ground, with broché weaving for the flowers and leaves of Japanese bindweed alongside lancé and liseré techniques for grasses. Broché weaving has an additional weft thread limited to the area of the motif. With the lancé technique, the additional weft thread runs across the whole width of the fabric, but still only appears in the motif, whereas, with liseré, the additional weft crosses the whole width and appears in the ground as well as in the motif. This specific textile is the same design as a striking exhibit presented by Béraud & Cie of Lyon at the International Exposition held in Paris in 1889. The Musée des Tissus et des Arts Décoratifs in Lyon has an identical piece in its collection (Inv. 24889).