Chair Strip
Unknown Artist
early 18th century
Medium
Silk, metallic thread
Dimensions
72 3/4 x 23 in. (184.79 x 58.42 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Velvets
Culture & Period
China · Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1956
Accession Number
56.129.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Chair Strip* from early 18th-century Qing dynasty China (1644–1911) is a stunning example of luxury textile artistry, designed as a decorative panel for high-status furniture like chairs or thrones. Measuring nearly six feet long and crafted from sumptuous silk velvet woven with shimmering metallic threads, it features intricate dragon motifs—a hallmark of imperial symbolism. Dragons in Chinese culture represented power, good fortune, and the emperor's divine authority, suggesting this piece adorned elite interiors, perhaps in a palace or noble household during the prosperous r...