The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Brocade with Soaring Phoenixes among Clouds

Brocade with Soaring Phoenixes among Clouds

1100s–1200s
(1115-1234)
Silk and gold thread; tabby, brocaded
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.)
John L. Severance Fund 1994.292
Location: not on view

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.
  • ?–1994
    (Dr. Friedrich Spuhler, Berlin, Germany, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1994–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1997. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 31, pp. 118-119
    Komaroff, Linda, and Stefano Carboni. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven, CT: Distributed by Yale University Press, 2002. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 180, p. 282, fig. 207, p. 177
  • The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia 1256-1353. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (October 28, 2002-February 16, 2003); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (April 13-July 27, 2003).
    When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 26, 1997-January 4, 1998); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 26, 1997-January 4, 1998); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998).
  • {{cite web|title=Brocade with Soaring Phoenixes among Clouds|url=false|author=|year=1100s–1200s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1994.292