A FINE AND LARGE SILK-EMBROIDERED PANEL OF THREE JAPANESE CHIN DOGS Japan, Meiji period (1868-1912) Finely woven on a silvery beige-colored silk ground, with two dogs sitting and carefully watching a third dog playing with a flower. Framed in a dark wood frame decorated to each side with sinuous dragons. SIZE 72 x 66 cm (image) and 90.5 x 84 cm (incl. frame) Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, minor soiling, few stains, and the frame with small nicks, few scratches, and age cracks. The Japanese Chin, also known as the Japanese Spaniel, is a dog acknowledged for its importance to Japanese nobility. The dogs have a dot or a line on their forehead, which is associated with the touch of Buddha. While most believe that the source breed for the Japanese Chin originated in China, the route by which the Chin arrived in Japan is a widely debated topic. One story claims that the dogs were given to the Japanese royalty in AD 732 as gifts from the rulers of Korea. Others maintain that they were given as gifts to the Empress of Japan as early as the middle of the sixth century or by the seventh century.