Artwork Page for Brocade with Hares

Details / Information for Brocade with Hares

Brocade with Hares

1200s–mid-1300s

Northern China, Yuan dynasty

(1271-1368)
Medium
Silk: tabby, brocaded; gold thread
Measurements
Overall: 26 x 42.8 cm (10 1/4 x 16 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Lisbet Holmes 1991.113
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The motif of the hare among bushes may relate to the hunting activities of the Khitan, the Jurchen, and the Mongols. Hare hunts are recorded in the Liaoshi (History of the Liao Dynasty) and were often reported by envoys returning to China from the northern states. The asymmetry of the image in this textile is characteristic of Jin brocades. However, the paired (instead of single) warps reveal the influence of craftsmen from the eastern Iranian world and therefore dates the textile to the Mongol period.
A horizontal fragment of muted purple silk features rows of golden, house-shaped medallions. Each enclosure depicts a leaping hare amidst floral motifs in glinting thread. The fabric displays a fine horizontal weave, finished with a narrow red border along the right edge. The left side is heavily distressed and jaggedly torn, while the golden motifs stand out in metallic relief against the deep violet ground.

Brocade with Hares

1200s–mid-1300s

Northern China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)

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