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Textile Fragment with Floral Pattern

2nd century BC

Not on view

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.

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

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

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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.