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Source Description
The mysterious image of a deerlike animal gazing up at the moon among clouds has been variously interpreted over many centuries. The animal, lying down with one foreleg extended and looking back, originated as a <em>djeiran</em>, or Central Asian antelope. Commonly appearing on Sogdian silver from the 600s onward, the motif migrated via the trade routes to northern China. There, during the Jin and Yuan (1279–1368) dynasties, it was very popular and always depicted with the moon supported by clouds. Chinese writers often identify the djeiran as the mythical rhinoceros (<em>xi'niu</em>) that is said to gaze at the moon, or as the cow of Wu "panting upon seeing the moon."
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
156106
label
Brocade with Djeiran Gazing at the Moon
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
156106
contentType
object
title
Brocade with Djeiran Gazing at the Moon
description
The mysterious image of a deerlike animal gazing up at the moon among clouds has been variously interpreted over many centuries. The animal, lying down with one foreleg extended and looking back, originated as a <em>djeiran</em>, or Central Asian antelope. Commonly appearing on Sogdian silver from the 600s onward, the motif migrated via the trade routes to northern China. There, during the Jin and Yuan (1279–1368) dynasties, it was very popular and always depicted with the moon supported by clouds. Chinese writers often identify the djeiran as the mythical rhinoceros (<em>xi'niu</em>) that is said to gaze at the moon, or as the cow of Wu "panting upon seeing the moon."
date
1115–1234
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60741491
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 109.8 x 38.5 cm (43 1/4 x 15 3/16 in.)
cul
China, Jin dynasty (1115-1234)
accession
1991.4
Source extras
tec
Silk and gold thread; tabby, brocaded
tombstone
Brocade with Djeiran Gazing at the Moon, 1115–1234. China, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Silk and gold thread; tabby, brocaded; overall: 109.8 x 38.5 cm (43 1/4 x 15 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1991.4
collection
Textiles
didYouKnow
The gold-brocaded pattern is repeated in staggered rows with alternating orientations.
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: Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 1997
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 29, pp. 114–115, 106
citation
Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. <em>Masterworks of Asian Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 60–61
citation
Komaroff, Linda, and Stefano Carboni. <em>The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven, CT: Distributed by Yale University Press, 2002.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 179, p. 282; fig. 66, p, 68
citation
Chen, Juanjuan, Nengfu Huang, Wenying Li, and Hao Peng. <em>Chinese Silks</em>. Edited by Dieter Kuhn and Feng Zhao. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012.
page_number
Reproduced: fig. 6.27, p. 288
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. 70, abb. 24
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-18 15:02:35.226000
sourceId
156106
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Silk and gold thread; tabby, brocaded
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
18445c5e1f4e38f8