Canopy with Dragon among Flowers
Unknown Artist
1100s/1400s
Medium
Center: silk, gold, tapestry weave (kesi). Border: silk, gold, lampas weave
Dimensions
87 × 84.5 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1995.1
About this artwork
The tapestry sewn into the center of this canopy depicts dragons among flowers, a classic design in Chinese art. Its weavers paid attention to fine details, such as the color gradation of the dragon’s scales, or subtle color changes in the flower petals and leaves. The selection of colored silk threads is soft in tone but rich in variety. All these stylistic characteristics indicate that this tapestry was woven in an imperial Southern Song workshop in the capital of Hangzhou, a center of textile...