Artwork Page for Child’s Coat with Ducks in Pearl Medallions

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Child’s Coat with Ducks in Pearl Medallions

雙鴨圓形紋兒童外套

700s

Probably Sogdia (present-day Uzbekistan), China, Tang dynasty

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Medium
Silk: weft-faced compound twill weave (samite)
Measurements
width across shoulders: 84.5 cm (33 1/4 in.); length back of neck to hem: 51.4 cm (20 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1996.2.1
Public Domain
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Location
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Did You Know?

This coat is part of a set of garments that originally included an outer pair of pants and silk boots made from the same fabric.

Description

The coat’s outer fabric is woven in five brilliant colors featuring paired ducks in pearl roundels, hallmarks of the precious and highly desired silks from Sogdia. The coat’s inner lining is a twill damask with a floral pattern made in China. The combination of Sogdian and Chinese silks in one garment with Tibetan ownership history is evidence of the vital exchange and cultural interaction among the peoples living along the trade routes of the Silk Road.

This precious coat was presumably made for a Tibetan prince. Given the coat’s pristine condition, though, it is unclear whether the garment was ever worn, or was used as a diplomatic gift or perhaps as currency.
A squared woven silk coat features repeated circles outlined with white dots in which two geometric ducks face each other with red heads and legs, and yellow bodies detailed with dark blue and white against a green background. Between the circles, against a red background, curls an ornate plus-sign-like shape. A strip of the pattern cuts down from the triangular neck, interrupting the continuous pattern across the chest.

Child’s Coat with Ducks in Pearl Medallions

700s

Probably Sogdia (present-day Uzbekistan), China, Tang dynasty

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