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Source Description
This luxurious silk coat for a young prince displays ducks in pearl roundels alternating with cross-shaped lotus blossoms woven in five radiant colors of silk. The ducks are adorned with imperial motifs adopted from the previous Sasanian dynasty in Iran including pearl collars, flying ribbons, and a jeweled necklace in their beaks. This silk was woven in Iran or Sogdiana; however, it is lined with Chinese silk damask and has a pair of pants also made with Chinese silk damask, both decorated in an 8th-century style of the Tang Dynasty.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
159371
label
A Child’s Coat with Ducks in Pearl Medallions and a Child's Pants
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
159371
contentType
object
title
A Child’s Coat with Ducks in Pearl Medallions and a Child's Pants
description
This luxurious silk coat for a young prince displays ducks in pearl roundels alternating with cross-shaped lotus blossoms woven in five radiant colors of silk. The ducks are adorned with imperial motifs adopted from the previous Sasanian dynasty in Iran including pearl collars, flying ribbons, and a jeweled necklace in their beaks. This silk was woven in Iran or Sogdiana; however, it is lined with Chinese silk damask and has a pair of pants also made with Chinese silk damask, both decorated in an 8th-century style of the Tang Dynasty.
date
700s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79978841
genreSpecific
Garment
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 48 x 82.5 cm (18 7/8 x 32 1/2 in.)
cul
Iran or Central Asia, Sogdiana
accession
1996.2
Source extras
tec
silk; weft-faced compound twill, samit
tombstone
A Child’s Coat with Ducks in Pearl Medallions and a Child's Pants, 700s. Iran or Central Asia, Sogdiana. Silk; weft-faced compound twill, samit; overall: 48 x 82.5 cm (18 7/8 x 32 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1996.2
collection
Textiles
didYouKnow
Given the coat’s pristine condition, it is unclear whether it was ever worn, or if it was used instead as a diplomatic gift or perhaps as currency.
citations
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, “The Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Major Works,” March 18, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
citation
Wardwell, Anne E. "Clothes for a Prince", Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 36 no. 08, October 1996
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 4-5
citation
Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. W<em>hen 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: cat. no. 5, pp. 34-37; Reproduced: p. 36
citation
Mackie, Louise W. <em>Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century</em>. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015.
page_number
Reproduced: P. 65, fig. 2.27; 36, 41-42, 66-67, fig. 2.28; Mentioned: P. 65, 69
citation
Corty, Axelle. "Mysterieuses Soieries d'Asie Central." <em>Connaissance des arts</em> 745 (Feb. 2016): 84-89.
page_number
Reproduced: pp. 84-85
citation
"Highlights from North American Collections." <em>IDP News: Newsletter of the International Dunhuang Project</em>, no. 49-50, Summer 2017, pp. 4-7.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 7, fig. 5 (coat only)
citation
The Asian Art Newspaper. "The Splendor of Chinese Textiles: From the Silk Road to the Imperial Court." <em>The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries</em> 21, no. 6 (Summer 2018): 25.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 25
citation
Pritzker, David Thomas and Wang Xudong 王旭东, editors. <em>Cultural Exchange along the Silk Road: Masterpieces of the Tubo Period (7th-9th Century)</em> = 丝绸之路上的文化交流 : 吐蕃时期艺术珍品. Beijing: 中国藏学出版社 [China Tibetology Publishing House], 2020.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 28 (coat only), p. 38
citation
Williams, Elizabeth Dospel. "Khirbat al-Mafjar and the Immersive Materiality of Early Medieval Interiors." In <em>Stucco in the Islamic World: Studies of Architectural Ornament from Spain to India</em>, Edited by Richard McClary, 44-61. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2025.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 56, fig. 3.9b
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-03 11:06:04.422000
sourceId
159371
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
silk; weft-faced compound twill, samit
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
cc76e1ddab60fdf6