Pendant
Unknown Artist
1300s
Medium
needleloop embroidery and knotting; silk, silvered paper, gilded paper and gold thread
Dimensions
84.5 × 21.7 cm
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Edward L. Whittemore Fund
Accession Number
1994.20
About this artwork
Pendants were used extensively in Buddhist settings where they were attached to almost anything needing decoration: ritual objects, canopies, valances, pillars, and other architectural components. They could be made in a variety of ways. This example consists of a heading and six tiers, each embroidered separately and then attached, one to the next. The earliest known pendant of this type was found in Central Asia and dates from the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907). The 14th-century date of this pendan...