The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 7, 2026

A square silk textile depicts a tan, four-clawed dragon swirling across a bright yellow field. Its golden-brown body snakes through a dense arrangement of multicolored clouds in shades of blue, green, and red. A dark blue border frames the composition, featuring a repeating pattern of small pink and red floral motifs. The dragon's forward-facing head, positioned near the top, has wide eyes and an open mouth.

Wrapper for the Tapestry Scroll Mingling of Clear and Muddy Water at the Junction of the Jing and Wei Rivers

1736–95

China, Qing dynasty

(1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
Silk and metal thread: tapestry weave, painted with ink and colors
warp: 76.2 cm (30 in.); weft: 93.3 cm (36 3/4 in.); Overall: 55.5 x 55 cm (21 7/8 x 21 5/8 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1915.618.b
Location: Not on view

Description

The cloth to wrap the tapestry scroll, Mingling of Clear and Muddy Water at the Junction of the Jing and Wei Rivers, CMA 1915.618.a, features a dragon, emblem of imperial power, on an imperial yellow ground.
  • ?-1915
    John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1915-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Wadsworth Atheneum, Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, and Charles Crehore Cunningham. 2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving: A Loan Exhibition : Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Dec. 7, 1951 to Jan. 27, 1952 ; the Baltimore Museum of Art, Feb. 27, 1952 to Mar. 25, 1952. Hartford, Conn: Wardsworth Atheneum], 1951. p. 53
    von Spee, Clarissa. “Clear and Muddy Water: Rediscovering a Chinese imperial tapestry scroll.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 58, no. 3 (May/June 2018): 14-15. Reproduced: P. 15; Mentioned: P. 14, 15. archive.org
    Spee, Clarissa von. "From the SIlk Road to the Imperial Court: Chinese Textiles in the Cleveland Museum of Art." Arts of Asia 48, no. 3(May-June 2018): 50-56. Reproduced: p. 56, fig. 11
  • The Splendor of Chinese Silk – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 5-August 12, 2018).
    Arts of China from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Mansfield, OH (February 27-April 10, 1983).
    K'o-ssu: Chinese Silk Tapestry. China House Gallery, New York City, NY (organizer) (March 24-May 27, 1971).
    2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving. Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT (December 7, 1951-January 27, 1952; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (February 27-March 25, 1952).
  • {{cite web|title=Wrapper for the Tapestry Scroll Mingling of Clear and Muddy Water at the Junction of the Jing and Wei Rivers|url=false|author=|year=1736–95|access-date=07 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.618.b