textile; banner; 紡織品(Chinese); 幡(Chinese) BM-MAS.862.a

Period:Tang dynasty Production date:8thC
Materials:silk, 絲綢 (Chinese),
Technique:samite, 斜紋緯錦 (Chinese),
Subjects:mammal bird 哺乳動物 (Chinese) 鳥 (Chinese)
Dimensions:Height: 27 centimetres Width: 26.50 centimetres

Description:
These two fragments were originally from the same piece of fabric, but were used in two different banner heads. They are made in samite (weft-faced compound twill) in green, white and brown on a red ground, with confronting ibexes standing on a tree pedestal inside pearl roundels 17.5 cm wide and 21 cm high. Two four-petalled florets further decorate the ibexes, and rosettes enclosing confronting birds fill the interstices. This fabric is in the typical ‘Sogdian style’ of the Tang dynasty. The pearl roundels are in the same style found on textiles from the late 7th century and the first half of the 8th century. A similar ibex motif decorates the textile with the Sogdian inscription zandaniji in the Huy Cathedral in Belgium. Weave structures: Inner warp: silk, Z twisted, tripled, brown, 36 ends/cm; Binding warp: silk, untwisted, single, brown, 12 ends/cm; Weft: silk, untwisted, red for the ground, green, white and brown for the pattern, 31 passes/cm. Weave structure: 1/2S weft faced compound twill. 斜紋緯錦殘片，來自兩塊不同的幡首。圖案爲紅地上顯綠、白、棕三色花，主花是高約21cm、寬約17.5cm的聯珠團窠紋樣，團窠中心棕櫚葉底盤上站立有一對立野山羊，身上點綴四瓣花卉紋樣。在賓花位置則是一個橢圓形的瓣窠，窠中爲對鳥圖案。從技術上分析，這是一件十分典型的唐代中亞粟特風格的織錦，其野山羊紋樣造型與收藏于比利時輝伊大教堂中帶有粟特文題記“贊丹尼奇”的織錦完全一致，但構成團窠的聯珠圈卻多少帶有較爲早期的特點。這件織錦有可能是公元七世紀下半葉至八世紀上半葉的作品。 組織結構： 經線：明經：絲，無撚，單根排列，棕色，12根/cm；夾經：絲，Z撚，三根排列，棕色，36根/cm；緯線：絲，無撚，紅色緯線地上以綠、白、棕三色緯線顯花，31副 /cm；組織：1/2S向斜紋緯重組織。
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Comments:This fragment was originally the headpiece of a 9thC banner (Ch.009) now in New Delhi. It is cut out from the same fabric of fragment MAS 962.b.