Cleveland Museum of Art

Canopy with Dragon among Flowers

Date: 1100s/1400s
Medium: Center: silk, gold, tapestry weave (kesi). Border: silk, gold, lampas weave
Culture: China, Center: Southern Song dynasty (1127-1270) Border: Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
Department: Textiles
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

The tapestry sewn into the center of this canopy depicts dragons among flowers, a classic design in Chinese art. Its weavers paid attention to fine details, such as the color gradation of the dragon’s scales, or subtle color changes in the flower petals and leaves. The selection of colored silk threads is soft in tone but rich in variety. All these stylistic characteristics indicate that this tapestry was woven in an imperial Southern Song workshop in the capital of Hangzhou, a center of textile production in the Jiangnan region.

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