COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1994.96
amicoid
CMA_.1994.96
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Textiles
oty
Textiles
Object Type
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
crc
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Dates/Places:
China
cdt
China
Creator Dates/Places
false
Creator Name-CRT:
China, Tang dynasty (618-907), 8th - 9th century
crt
China, Tang dynasty (618-907), 8th - 9th century
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Embroidery with Birds
otn
Embroidery with Birds
Title
false
Title Type:
Primary
ott
Primary
Title Type
false
View:
Full View
rid
Full View
View
false
Creation Date:
700s - 800s
oct
700s - 800s
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
700
ocs
700
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
899
oce
899
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
embroidery, silk thread on silk ground
omd
embroidery, silk thread on silk ground
Materials and Techniques
false
Classification Term:
Embroidery
clt
Embroidery
Classification Term
false
Dimensions:
Overall: 157.5cm x 25.7cm
met
Overall: 157.5cm x 25.7cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
oon
The Cleveland Museum of Art
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
oop
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1994.96
ooa
1994.96
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
ooc
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Credit Line
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html"target="_new">http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html</a>
Rights
false
Context:
This embroidery of birds worked over a patterned silk ground is one of the largest to have survived from the Tang dynasty of China. The birds are arranged in horizontal rows of single and, alternately, paired birds. With one exception (the single bird at the top edge to the right of the central pair), they face away from a central pair flanking a tulip-like flower on a hill. The textile's original function is not known. At the height of the Tang period, China controlled Central Asia as far west as the eastern borders of Sogdiana, an ancient confederation of states situated between the Oxus (today Syr Darya) and Jaxartes (today Amu Darya) Rivers. Goods, including textiles, moved freely along the trade routes connecting China with the Byzantine and Persian empires. In this way, Persian motifs reached Central Asia and China where they were absorbed into the decorative repertory. Here the forms of the single and paired birds and of the mountain and flower in the central embroidered motif can be traced back to Persian sources. The superimposition of an embroidered design over a patterned ground was very much in keeping with Tang taste. Traces of the outlines of the birds initially drawn onto the ground fabric can still be seen. Slight discrepancies between the birds indicate that they were drawn by hand and not stamped. Typical of Tang embroideries are the shades of purple, tan, green, blue, and cream of the birds, the hill, and the flower. Likewise, the embroidery consists mostly of satin stitch with juxtaposed blocks of color and no shading; outline stitch is used for occasional details. The design of the ground fabric--a diamond grid enclosing stylized rosettes--was a standard textile pattern used during the Tang. Woven on a shaft loom, the pattern was created by short warp and weft floats. The naturalistic, spontaneous style of the birds and flower indicates that the embroidery dates from the eighth to ninth century. A.W.
cxd
This embroidery of birds worked over a patterned silk ground is one of the largest to have survived from the Tang dynasty of China. The birds are arranged in horizontal rows of single and, alternately, paired birds. With one exception (the single bird at the top edge to the right of the central pair), they face away from a central pair flanking a tulip-like flower on a hill. The textile's original function is not known. At the height of the Tang period, China controlled Central Asia as far west as the eastern borders of Sogdiana, an ancient confederation of states situated between the Oxus (today Syr Darya) and Jaxartes (today Amu Darya) Rivers. Goods, including textiles, moved freely along the trade routes connecting China with the Byzantine and Persian empires. In this way, Persian motifs reached Central Asia and China where they were absorbed into the decorative repertory. Here the forms of the single and paired birds and of the mountain and flower in the central embroidered motif can be traced back to Persian sources. The superimposition of an embroidered design over a patterned ground was very much in keeping with Tang taste. Traces of the outlines of the birds initially drawn onto the ground fabric can still be seen. Slight discrepancies between the birds indicate that they were drawn by hand and not stamped. Typical of Tang embroideries are the shades of purple, tan, green, blue, and cream of the birds, the hill, and the flower. Likewise, the embroidery consists mostly of satin stitch with juxtaposed blocks of color and no shading; outline stitch is used for occasional details. The design of the ground fabric--a diamond grid enclosing stylized rosettes--was a standard textile pattern used during the Tang. Woven on a shaft loom, the pattern was created by short warp and weft floats. The naturalistic, spontaneous style of the birds and flower indicates that the embroidery dates from the eighth to ninth century. A.W.
Context
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1994.96.tif
ril
CMA_.1994.96.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false