Artwork Page for Canopy with Dragon among Flowers

Details / Information for Canopy with Dragon among Flowers

Canopy with Dragon among Flowers

緙絲百花盤龍織品

1100s/1400s

China, Center: Southern Song dynasty (1127-1270) Border: Ming dynasty

(1368-1644)
Medium
Center: silk, gold, tapestry weave (kesi). Border: silk, gold, lampas weave
Measurements
Overall: 87 x 84.5 cm (34 1/4 x 33 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1995.1
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The tapestry sewn into the center of this canopy depicts dragons among flowers, a classic design in Chinese art. Its weavers paid attention to fine details, such as the color gradation of the dragon’s scales, or subtle color changes in the flower petals and leaves. The selection of colored silk threads is soft in tone but rich in variety. All these stylistic characteristics indicate that this tapestry was woven in an imperial Southern Song workshop in the capital of Hangzhou, a center of textile production in the Jiangnan region.
Rectangular canopy textile with a golden-brown dragon snaking across a red-orange, flower-patterned background in the center and bordered by a pattern of gold flowers and vines across a dark blue background. The dragon snakes from the upper to lower center, their body extending beyond the textile before their head pops up in the lower left corner. Scales in brown gradations color their body, outlined in gold, with a light blue spine specked with dark blue.

Canopy with Dragon among Flowers

1100s/1400s

China, Center: Southern Song dynasty (1127-1270) Border: Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

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