Period:Tang dynasty (618–907)
Date:early 8th century
Culture:China
Medium:Silk embroidery on plain-weave silk
Dimensions:Overall: 12 1/4 x 12 1/8 in. (31.1 x 30.8 cm)
Mount (with plexi cover): 15 x 14 1/2 in. (38.1 x 36.8 cm)
Classification:Textiles-Embroidered
Credit Line:Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1996
Accession Number:1996.103.2
Although symmetry is a basic element of Chinese design, the motif of a pair of confronted animals or birds on either side of a plant was not known in China until the opening of the silk routes in the second century B.C. The pattern seen on this embroidery—birds standing on lotus blossoms (a motif derived from Buddhist art)—was popular in the early Tang period.