The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Textile Ornaments(?): Pair of Phoenixes

c. 700s

China, Tang dynasty

(618-907)
beaten gold with chased detail
Part 1: 12 x 10.4 cm (4 3/4 x 4 1/8 in.); Part 2: 13.3 x 10.7 cm (5 1/4 x 4 3/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1942.1083
Location: 239 Chinese Ceramics and Metalwork

Did You Know?

These two phoenix birds made of thin gold foil have tiny holes all along their edges, suggesting that they were sewn on textiles.

Description

These two phoenix birds made of thin gold foil have tiny holes all along their edges, suggesting that they were sewn on textiles.
  • ?–1942
    (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1942–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kathman, Barbara A. A Cleveland Bestiary. Cleveland, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Reproduced: p. 49; Mentioned: p. 64, p. 62
    von Spee, Clarissa. "Art In New Dimensions: Chinese Miniature and Small Objects at the Cleveland Museum of Art." Arts of Asia 52, no. 4 (Winter 2022): 117–121. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 120–121, fig. 10
  • China through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature and Detail. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 11, 2022-February 26, 2023).
    Dayton Art Institute, "Chinese Gold and Silver from the Tang Dynasty from American Collections," Showings: 11/3/1984-1/6/1985, Dayton; 2/5/1985-4/21/1985, Cooper Hewitt Museum, NY
    A Cleveland Bestiary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15-December 16, 1981).
    Barbara A. Kathman, A Cleveland Bestiary, CMA Dept. of Art History and Education, Oct. 14-December 9, 1981), fig. 44
    Early Chinese Gold and Silver. China Institute in America, New York, NY (organizer) (October 21, 1971-January 30, 1972).
    Paul Singer, Early Chinese Gold and Silver (China Institute in America, NY, 1971-72) cat. 52
    Henry Trubner, Arts of the Tang Dynasty (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1957), cat. 305
  • {{cite web|title=Textile Ornaments(?): Pair of Phoenixes|url=false|author=|year=c. 700s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.1083