《莲塘乳鸭图》是南宋缂丝名家朱克柔的传世代表作，现藏于上海博物馆，是中国古代缂丝艺术的巅峰之作。作品以莲塘水景为主题，画面中红鸭、白鹭、芙蓉、浮萍错落排布，禽鸟羽毛蓬松灵动，花草脉络清晰如生，几乎与工笔绘画别无二致，甚至因丝线的光泽质感更显温润鲜活。
Lotus Pond with Ducklings, a masterpiece by Southern Song Dynasty tapestry artist Zhu Kerou, is now housed in the Shanghai Museum and represents the pinnacle of ancient Chinese kesi (silk tapestry) art. Centered on a waterside lotus pond scene, the work features red ducks, egrets, hibiscus flowers and duckweed arranged in exquisite composition. The fluffy feathers of the birds and delicate veins of the plants are rendered with such lifelike precision that it rivals fine brush painting, and exudes a warmer, more vivid texture thanks to the sheen of silk threads.
缂丝采用 “通经断纬” 的特殊技法，经线贯穿整幅织物，纬线则根据图案分段挖织，每换一种颜色就要重新穿引一次丝线，因此制作极为耗时，成品也有着 “一寸缂丝一寸金” 的美誉。朱克柔作为南宋最顶尖的缂丝艺人，开创了细腻写实的 “朱缂” 风格，这幅作品更是将绘画笔墨与织绣工艺完美融合，是存世极少的宋代缂丝珍品。
Kesi employs a unique technique called “continuous warp, discontinuous weft”: warp threads run the full length of the fabric, while weft threads are woven only in sections matching the pattern, with re-threading required for every color change. This extremely time-consuming process has earned the craft the reputation of “an inch of kesi is worth an inch of gold”. As the most accomplished kesi artisan of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Kerou founded the delicate, realistic “Zhu-style kesi” school. This work, which perfectly integrates painterly brushwork with weaving craftsmanship, is one of the very few surviving Song Dynasty kesi treasures.