Fragment (Dress Fabric)
This textile reflects the cosmopolitan richness and inventiveness of the Tang dynasty. During this period, caravans of merchants and Buddhist clerics traversed the vast network that modern scholars call the Silk Road, transporting China’s luxurious silks westward across Asia and returning with exotic goods from empires extending to the Mediterranean Sea. In this textile’s jewel-like floral medallion, symmetrically curled and layered tendrils derived from the classical half palmette were adopted and refined by Chinese weavers from foreign sources. The stylized floral head seen from above, th...
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Dimensions
- 61.6 × 90.2 cm (24 1/4 × 35 1/2 in.); Weft repeat: H.: 61 cm (24 in.)
- Origin
- China
- Department
- Textiles
- Holding institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image provider
- art-institute-chicago
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Robert Allerton Endowment
Art Genome Taxonomy
10 tags
Subject Matter
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Flora Both · 98%
Stylized flowers, leaves, stems, tendrils, and palmette-like botanical forms dominate the design; the catalog describes the motifs as plant-derived and floral.
Visual Qualities
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Patterns Visual · 99%
Repeated floral medallions, scrolling stems, and recurring botanical units organize the surface into a patterned textile design.
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Symmetrical Visual · 97%
The large medallion has strong radial symmetry, while many surrounding floral units are arranged in balanced paired or mirrored formations.
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Highly Ornamented Visual · 97%
The surface is densely embellished with layered blossoms, curling tendrils, leaves, outlined forms, and multiple color bands.
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Curvilinear Forms Visual · 96%
Rounded floral heads, curling tendrils, looping stems, and scroll-like leaves create a dominant curving vocabulary across the textile.
Time Periods
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500 - 1000 CE Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the textile to approximately 775–825 CE, within the 500–1000 CE period.
Geographic Regions
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Chinese Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog identifies China as the place of origin and describes the work as a Tang-dynasty textile.
Materials
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Natural Fibers Metadata · 98%
The catalog identifies the medium as silk, a natural fiber.
Textiles
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Textile Arts Both · 99%
The object is visibly a woven textile fragment, and the catalog classifies it as a textile made of silk.
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Use of Fabric Both · 99%
The title identifies the object as dress fabric, and the image shows a surviving fragment of woven cloth.
Source & rights
China. Fragment (Dress Fabric). The Art Institute of Chicago.