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Textile Fragment with “Longevity” Design

2nd century BC

Not on view

This fragment is meticulously embroidered with a stylized cloud pattern in four colors: pink, orange, green, and blue. The vivid patterns express the ancient Chinese ideology of immortality. The inventory of the tomb’s burial goods, written on bamboo strips, records this type of textile as a “longevity embroidery” (changshou xiu), providing sound evidence of the Han-period name for this decorative motif.

Textile Fragment with “Longevity” Design, Silk embroidery (chain stitches) on silk plain weave, China — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

西汉 “长寿绣”绢残片

Title: Textile Fragment with “Longevity” Design

Period: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)

Date: 2nd century BC

Culture: China

Medium: Silk embroidery (chain stitches) on silk plain weave

Dimensions: Image: 22 7/16 × 16 7/16 in. (57 × 41.8 cm)
Frame: 31 3/8 × 25 3/16 × 1 in. (79.7 × 64 × 2.5 cm)

Classification: Textiles-Embroidered

Credit Line: Lent by Hunan Provincial Museum

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Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.