Collection record · Dress & textiles
Brocade with Djeiran Gazing at the Moon
The collection record classifies this work as textile. It is dated 1115–1234. Recorded culture or place: China, Jin dynasty (1115-1234).
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Brocade with Djeiran Gazing at the Moon
- Date
- 1115–1234
- Culture / origin
- China, Jin dynasty (1115-1234)
- Materials and technique
- Silk and gold thread; tabby, brocaded
- Dimensions
- Overall: 109.8 x 38.5 cm (43 1/4 x 15 3/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1991.4
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
The mysterious image of a deerlike animal gazing up at the moon among clouds has been variously interpreted over many centuries. The animal, lying down with one foreleg extended and looking back, originated as a djeiran, or Central Asian antelope. Commonly appearing on Sogdian silver from the 600s onward, the motif migrated via the trade routes to northern China. There, during the Jin and Yuan (1279–1368) dynasties, it was very popular and always depicted with the moon supported by clouds. Chinese writers often identify the djeiran as the mythical rhinoceros (xi'niu) that is said to gaze at the moon, or as the cow of Wu "panting upon seeing the moon."
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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