Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
This elegant brocade of phoenixes, seen almost frontally, is woven with gold thread made from flat strips of gilded paper instead of the usual strips of gilded parchment. This suggests that the textile was woven in the southern part of the Jin state that had been annexed from the Chinese. Although probably intended to serve as secular clothing, this textile ended up in a Buddhist institution. The end was folded and stamped in red ink with a seated Buddha flanked by two Bodhisattvas (now faint and upside down). Two Tibetan inscriptions were also stamped (translation: "The Bhagavan, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the completely perfect Buddha," and "Salutations to Blo gnas.") Above, an isolated letter ka indicates that the textile was used to cover the first volume of a set of books.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
157414
label
Brocade with Phoenixes
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
157414
contentType
object
title
Brocade with Phoenixes
description
This elegant brocade of phoenixes, seen almost frontally, is woven with gold thread made from flat strips of gilded paper instead of the usual strips of gilded parchment. This suggests that the textile was woven in the southern part of the Jin state that had been annexed from the Chinese. Although probably intended to serve as secular clothing, this textile ended up in a Buddhist institution. The end was folded and stamped in red ink with a seated Buddha flanked by two Bodhisattvas (now faint and upside down). Two Tibetan inscriptions were also stamped (translation: "The Bhagavan, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the completely perfect Buddha," and "Salutations to Blo gnas.") Above, an isolated letter ka indicates that the textile was used to cover the first volume of a set of books.
date
1100s–1200s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79973667
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 82 x 29.7 cm (32 5/16 x 11 11/16 in.)
cul
Central Asia, Jin dynasty (1115-1234)
accession
1994.27
Source extras
tec
tabby, brocaded; silk and gold thread
tombstone
Brocade with Phoenixes, 1100s–1200s. Central Asia, Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Tabby, brocaded; silk and gold thread; overall: 82 x 29.7 cm (32 5/16 x 11 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Textile Art Alliance, 1994.27
collection
Textiles
citations
citation
Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. 1997.
page_number
pp. 120-121, reproduced in color, p. 121
citation
Shea, Eiren. "The Spread of Gold Thread Production in the Mongol Period: A Study of Gold Textiles in the China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou." J<em>ournal of Song-Yuan Studies</em> 50 (2021).
page_number
p. 381-415, illus. p. 366-72.
creditline
Gift of The Textile Art Alliance
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:11:38.883000
sourceId
157414
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
tabby, brocaded; silk and gold thread
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
359c44ed65cbdefe