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Fragment (Dress Fabric)

Cloth fragment of dress, blue and brown floral design in circular patterns.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Cloth fragment of dress, blue and brown floral design in circular patterns.

Date:

Tang dynasty (A.D. 618–906), late 8th/early 9th century

Artist:

China

About this artwork

This textile reflects the cosmopolitan richness and inventiveness of the Tang dynasty. During this period, caravans of merchants and Buddhist clerics traversed the vast network that modern scholars call the Silk Road, transporting China’s luxurious silks westward across Asia and returning with exotic goods from empires extending to the Mediterranean Sea.

In this textile’s jewel-like floral medallion, symmetrically curled and layered tendrils derived from the classical half palmette were adopted and refined by Chinese weavers from foreign sources. The stylized floral head seen from above, the blossoming stems in three-quarter view, and the half palmettes in profile merge naturalism and geometry by subtly varying perspective and color. This design pervaded East Asian decorative arts; similar floral medallions and scrolls embellish wall paintings, stone carvings, and vessels of ceramic and silver that Tang aristocrats commissioned for their tombs, Buddhist temples, and private treasuries. Architectural tiles from palace sites in Korea and, most notably, exquisite silk fabrics and carpets preserved in the Shosoin repository in Nara, Japan, attest to the transmission of these patterns throughout East Asia in the eighth century.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Textiles

Title

Fragment (Dress Fabric)

Place

China (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 775 CE–825 CE

Medium

Silk, weft-float faced 1:2 'S' twill weave of complementary wefts and inner warps (samite)

Dimensions

61.6 × 90.2 cm (24 1/4 × 35 1/2 in.); Weft repeat: H.: 61 cm (24 in.)

Credit Line

Robert Allerton Endowment

Reference Number

1998.3

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/149681/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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