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Textile Fragment with Lozenges

2nd century BC

Not on view

In contrast to the multicolored embroideries found in the same tomb, this light fabric features subtler motifs in a more somber, coffee-colored palette. The motif—a large lozenge with two smaller lozenges on its shorter ends—is thought to be a stylized rendering of an erbei, or winged cup, the most popular shape of drinking cup of the period (see a lacquer example of one such cup in the adjacent gallery). It may correspond to the “cup pattern” (beiwen) mentioned in historical texts.

Textile Fragment with Lozenges, Silk complex gauze (luoqi), China — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

西汉烟色菱纹罗绮残片

Title: Textile Fragment with Lozenges

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

Date: 2nd century BC

Culture: China

Medium: Silk complex gauze (luoqi)

Dimensions: 22 × 19 7/8 in. (55.9 × 50.5 cm)
Framed: 27 3/8 × 24 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (69.5 × 62.2 × 3.8 cm)

Classification: Textiles

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.