Artwork Page for Brocade with Soaring Phoenixes among Clouds

Details / Information for Brocade with Soaring Phoenixes among Clouds

Brocade with Soaring Phoenixes among Clouds

1100s–1200s

China, Jin dynasty

(1115–1234)
Medium
Silk and gold thread; tabby, brocaded
Measurements
Overall: 56.2 x 62.2 cm (22 1/8 x 24 1/2 in.); Mounted: 69.5 x 74 cm (27 3/8 x 29 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1994.292
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Textiles like this, which were probably exported from China to Iran, helped transmit the phoenix motif into Ilkhanid decorative arts.

Description

The gold-brocaded designs of Jin brocades, such as this example with graceful phoenixes soaring into clouds, are typically asymmetrical. Moreover, they have no frame or border, and appear to have been cut out of larger decorative images.
A square silk textile fragment features staggered rows of golden medallions on a muted blue-green ground. Each teardrop-shaped motif depicts a phoenix soaring among stylized clouds. The piece is woven with gold thread and shows raw, frayed edges along the border. Darker patches of discoloration and staining are scattered across the surface, though the intricate, repeating motifs remain clearly visible against the weathered fabric background.

Brocade with Soaring Phoenixes among Clouds

1100s–1200s

China, Jin dynasty (1115–1234)

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