The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 4, 2023

Child’s Coat with Ducks in Pearl Medallions

雙鴨圓形紋兒童外套

700s

Part of a set. See all set records

Probably Sogdia

(present-day Uzbekistan)

China, Tang dynasty

Silk: weft-faced compound twill weave (samite)

Width across shoulders: 84.5 cm (33 1/4 in.); length back of neck to hem: 51.4 cm (20 1/4 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1996.2.1

Location

not on view

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.

Provenance
?-1996
(Sara Tremayne, Ltd., London, UK, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1996-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Cleveland Museum of Art, “The Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Major Works,” March 18, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
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: Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 1997. Mentioned: cat. no. 5, pp. 34-37; fig. 1, p. 22; fig. 3, p. 24
Mackie, Louise W. Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century. Cleveland; New Haven: Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015. Reproduced: P. 36, 41-42, 66-67, fig. 2.28; Mentioned: P. 65
Corty, Axelle. "Mysterieuses Soieries d'Asie Central." Connaissance des arts 745 (Feb. 2016): 84-89. Reproduced: pp. 84-85
"Highlights from North American Collections." IDP News: Newsletter of the International Dunhuang Project, no. 49-50, Summer 2017, pp. 4-7. Reproduced: p. 7, fig. 5
The Asian Art Newspaper. "The Splendor of Chinese Textiles: From the Silk Road to the Imperial Court." The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries 21, no. 6 (Summer 2018): 25. Reproduced: p. 25
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. 50,fig. 1
Exhibition history

When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998).

Islamic art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 3, 2012-December 9, 2013).

The Splendor of Chinese Silk – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 5-August 12, 2018).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.2.1