祥禽瑞兽纹 (Brocade with Confronting Dragon and Phoenix Motifs)

Ke Cen Foundation

This is a typical plain brocade from the Warring States Period. The patterns are confronting dragons and phoenixes and some geometric patterns. The designs are trichromatic, including dark brown ground with light brown and red division of flowers. The red is dyed by cinnabar and forms a bright ribbon decoration on the surface of the fabric. The brocade is very similar to the one unearthed from No. 44 Tomb of Zuojiatang in Changsha, Hunan province in 1957.

(Executive Editor: Ye Ke)