Textile with Coiled Dragons

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This textile represents the tradition of northern China's Jin dynasty, which was known for textiles brocaded in gold with offset asymmetrical motifs on a solid-colored background. The motif here is a coiled dragon with a flaming jewel. The coiled dragon, as a pattern for princes' robes, dates from the Tang dynasty and was also used for garments in the Song and Xixia dynasties. This example is an early instance of a dragon with five claws. It is woven in a variant of the brocading technique first seen in a Jin-dynasty princely tomb of 1162.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art