Canopy with phoenixes, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)
China
Embroidery; silk and gold thread; 56 3/10 x 53 1/8 in. (143 x 135 cm)
Purchase, Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Gift, Louis V. Bell and Rogers Funds, and Lita Annenberg Hazen Charitable Trust Gift, in honor of Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, 1988 (1988.82)
Technical Glossary
China
Embroidery; silk and gold thread; 56 3/10 x 53 1/8 in. (143 x 135 cm)
Purchase, Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Gift, Louis V. Bell and Rogers Funds, and Lita Annenberg Hazen Charitable Trust Gift, in honor of Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, 1988 (1988.82)
The combination of two different types of phoenixes (distinguished by their tail feathers) that fly toward each other creating a circular composition was a popular motif in the Yuan period. It is not unusual to see a disk in the center of such compositions of paired animals; however, the motif is associated more often with a pearl chased by a dragon.
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