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A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia

• 
  Tile with an image of a phoenix, Ilkhanid period (1206–1353) late 13th century
  Iran, probably Takht-i Sulaiman
  Stonepaste; modeled, underglaze painted in blue and turquoise, luster painted on opaque white ground; H. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm), W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1912 (12.49.4)
  
• 
  Textile with coiled dragons, Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
  China
  Tabby, brocaded; silk and gold thread; 29 3/8 x 13 1/8 in. (74.5 x 33.2 cm)
  Gift of Lisbet Holmes, 1989 (1989.205)
  
• 
  Canopy with phoenixes, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
  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)
  
• 
  Bowl with three fish, first half of 14th century
  Iran
  Fritware, monochrome glazed; H. 5 in. (12.7 cm), Diam. 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm)
  H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Gift of Mrs. Horace Havemeyer, in memory of her husband, Horace Havemeyer, 1959 (59.60)
  
• 
  Footed cup, Ilkhanid period (1206–1353), second half of 14th century
  Iran
  Brass; cast, engraved, and inlaid with black compound; H. 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm), Diam. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)
  Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 (91.1.559)
  
• 
  Yamantaka Mandala with imperial portraits, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 1330–1332
  China
  Silk tapestry (kesi); 96 5/8 x 82 1/4 in. (245.4 x 208.9 cm)
  Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1992 (1992.54)
  

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In the creation of luxury textiles and objects for the Mongol elite, Chinese artists developed a visual language that was an effective means of establishing their rule and consolidating their presence throughout the vast empire. A number of motifs that were part of the existing artistic repertoire were adopted as imperial symbols of power and dominance—the dragon and the phoenix, for example, two mythical beasts that integrated the ideas of cosmic force, earthly strength, superior wisdom, and eternal life. The Mongol versions of the creatures are the highly decorative sinuous dragon with legs, horns, and beard and the large bird with a spectacular feathered tail floating in the air (12.49.4). In Iran, these motifs were often paired and became so popular with the Ilkhanids that they eventually lost their original meaning, becoming part of the common artistic repertoire in the first half of the fourteenth century.

The flowers, often seen in combination and viewed from both the side and top, provided ideal patterns for textiles and for filling dense backgrounds on all kinds of portable objects.

Related

Cited Works of Art or Images (4)

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• 
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• 

Timelines (4)

• Central and North Africa, 1000–1400 a.d.
• China, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Iran, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Iraq, 1000–1400 a.d.

Primary Thematic Essays (4)

• List of Rulers of China
• The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353)
• The Legacy of Genghis Khan
• Yuan Dynasty (1271

Other Thematic Essays (11)

• Courtly Art of the Ilkhanids
• Folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama
• Folios from the Jami' al-tavarikh
• List of Rulers of the Islamic World
• Silks from Ottoman Turkey
• Takht-i Sulayman and the Tile Work of the Ilkhanid Period
• The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period
• The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period
• The Nature of Islamic Art
• The Religious Art under the Ilkhanids
• Wang Hui (1632–1717)

Maps (2)

• West Asia, 1400-1600 A.D.
• World, 1400-1600 A.D.

Index Terms (14)

Art Movement/Style

• Yuan Dynasty of China
• Ilkhanid Art in the Islamic Medieval Period

Geography/Place

• China
• Islamic World
• Iran

Material and Technique

• Tapestry in Silk
• Textile with Brocade
• Textile in Silk from East Asia
• Textile in Silk from West Asia

Subject Matter/Theme

• Mythological Animal
• Dragon
• Textile with Floral Motif
• Interior
• Trade (1000–1400 a.d.)

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Other motifs of this period that were familiar throughout the Asian continent are the peony, the lotus flower (91.1.559), and the lyrical image of the recumbent deer, or djeiran, gazing at the moon. The flowers, often seen in combination and viewed from both the side and top, provided ideal patterns for textiles and for filling dense backgrounds on all kinds of portable objects. The djeiran became widespread in the decorative arts because of the well-established association of similar quadrupeds with hunting scenes.



For the semi-nomadic Mongols, portable textiles and clothing were the best means of demonstrating their acquired wealth and power, so it is reasonable to assume that the main mode of transmission of motifs such as the dragon and peony was through luxury textiles. The most prominent clothing accessories were belts of precious metal (gold belt plaques, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art). Many of the textiles illustrated here prove transmission from east to west, yet in some instances, exemplified by the Chinese silk with addorsed griffins (cloth of gold: winged lions and griffins, The Cleveland Museum of Art), the origin of the image is clearly Central or western Asia. The Mongol period is unique in art history because it permitted the cross-fertilization of artistic motifs via the movement of craftsmen and artists throughout a politically unified continent.



Stefano Carboni Department of Islamic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Qamar Adamjee Department of Islamic Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "A New Visual Language Transmitted Across Asia". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/khan4/hd_khan4.htm (October 2003) Further Reading Carboni, Stefano, and Komaroff, Linda, eds. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353. Exhibition catalogue.. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. Crowe, Yolande "Late-Thirteenth-Century Persian Tilework and Chinese Textiles." Bulletin of the Asia Institute, n.s. 5 (1991), pp. 153–61.. n/a: n/a, n/a. Soucek, Priscilla "Ceramic Production as Exemplar of Yuan-Ilkhanid Relations." Res, no. 35 (Spring 1999), pp. 125–41.. n/a: n/a, n/a. Watt, James C. Y., and Anne E. Wardwell When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles. Exhibition catalogue.. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)