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Source Description
This is one of the very few northern Chinese silk and gold textiles to have survived from the Yuan dynasty. The curled dragons chasing pearls, the phoenixes, and the background of tiny hexagons are Chinese motifs, but the lobed roundels enclosing the dragons and phoenixes indicate the influence of eastern Iranian craftsmen who had been relocated to northern China. A red and gold silk woven with the same pattern is preserved in Beijing. The extraordinary survival of the two silks demonstrates that patterns were typically used over and over.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159280
label
Textile with Phoenixes and Dragons
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159280
contentType
object
title
Textile with Phoenixes and Dragons
description
This is one of the very few northern Chinese silk and gold textiles to have survived from the Yuan dynasty. The curled dragons chasing pearls, the phoenixes, and the background of tiny hexagons are Chinese motifs, but the lobed roundels enclosing the dragons and phoenixes indicate the influence of eastern Iranian craftsmen who had been relocated to northern China. A red and gold silk woven with the same pattern is preserved in Beijing. The extraordinary survival of the two silks demonstrates that patterns were typically used over and over.
date
1279–1368
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60759538
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 20.3 x 20 cm (8 x 7 7/8 in.); Mounted: 31.4 x 31.1 cm (12 3/8 x 12 1/4 in.)
cul
China, Yuan dynasty (1260-1368)
accession
1995.73
Source extras
tec
Silk and gold thread; lampas
tombstone
Textile with Phoenixes and Dragons, 1279–1368. China, Yuan dynasty (1260-1368). Silk and gold thread; lampas; overall: 20.3 x 20 cm (8 x 7 7/8 in.); mounted: 31.4 x 31.1 cm (12 3/8 x 12 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward L. Whittemore Fund, 1995.73
collection
Textiles
citations
citation
Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. <em>When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1997.
page_number
Reproduced: pp. 127, 153, 161, cat. 42
citation
Komaroff, Linda, and Stefano Carboni. <em>The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia</em>, <em>1256-1353</em>. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art ; New Haven : Yale University Press: 2002.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 176, cat. 183; Reproduced: p. 283, fig. 206
citation
Watt, James C. Y., and Maxwell K. Hearn. <em>The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010.
page_number
Reproduced and mentioned: p. 264, fig. 286
citation
Müller, Kathrin. <em>Musterhaft naturgetreu: Tiere in Seiden, Zeichnungen und Tapisserien des 14. und 15.</em> <em>Jahrhunderts.</em> Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 2020.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 48, abb. 5
citation
Akbarnia, Ladan. "Wonders of the Natural World." In <em>Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World</em>, edited by Ladan Akbarnia, 139-161. San Diego: The San Diego Museum of Art, 2025.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 139-140, cat. 72
creditline
Edward L. Whittemore Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:15:33.022000
sourceId
159280
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Silk and gold thread; lampas
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a9787eb39f1cfb6b