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Textile Fragment with Floral Pattern

2nd century BC
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This colorful fragment demonstrates a patterning method particular to Western Han textiles. The meandering designs were achieved in two steps: scrolls were first printed in black (likely using a stencil), and then flowers, buds, leaves, and dots were hand-colored in red, gray, and white. Judging from the size of the pattern unit, each complete fabric required thousands of impressions, and all this before the secondary application of color by hand. The intensity of labor and sophistication of design indicate that these textiles, like all the masterworks of embroidery from this tomb, were produced by official workshops.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 西汉 茱萸纹印花敷彩纱残片
  • Title: Textile Fragment with Floral Pattern
  • Period: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
  • Date: 2nd century BC
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Silk plain weave with stencil printing and hand coloring
  • Dimensions: Image: 16 in. × 23 1/2 in. (40.6 × 59.7 cm)
    Frame: 25 5/16 × 33 1/2 × 1 3/8 in. (64.3 × 85.1 × 3.5 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles
  • Credit Line: Lent by Hunan Provincial Museum
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art