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.

Compared with the large-cloud pattern of the “longevity embroidery” on view nearby, each design unit of this delicate work of embroidery is smaller, and the spaces between stitches is finer. The red buds and curling scrolls relate this pattern to cornelian cherry (zhuyu), a red-fruiting plant used widely in ancient China for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. A fruit-laden branch of the zhuyu worn in the hair on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month (chongyang festival) was believed to ward off evil.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

西汉茱萸纹绣绢残片
Title: Textile Fragment with Floral Pattern
Period: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
Date: 2nd century BC
Culture: China
Medium: Silk embroidery (chain stitches) on silk plain weave
Dimensions: 13 7/8 × 14 1/4 in. (35.2 × 36.2 cm)
Frame: 21 3/8 × 21 1/2 × 1 5/16 in. (54.3 × 54.6 × 3.3 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Embroidered
Credit Line: Lent by Hunan Provincial Museum
Curatorial Department: Asian Art