Brocade with Lotus Flowers 1200s-mid-1300s China, Northern, Mongol period, 13th - mid-14th century Silk: tabby, brocaded; gold thread Overall: 58.4 x 67 cm (23 x 26 3/8 in.); Mounted: 68.6 x 77.5 cm (27 x 30 1/2 in.) John L. Severance Fund 1994.293 DESCRIPTION The tradition of brocade weaving in northern China continued after the Mongol conquest. However, the arrival of eastern Iranian craftsmen affected both the design and the structure of the brocades: patterns became symmetrical and paired warps replaced single warps. Both of these modifications can be observed in this example. At the same time, however, the Jin tradition of floating foundation wefts across the back sides of the brocaded areas continued. Brocades such as this may have been woven in Hongzhou (in Hebei province), where weavers from both western Asia and from the former Jin capital, Bianjing, are known to have worked together. CITATIONS Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. 1997. pp. 122-123, color reproduction, p. 123, detail reproduction p. 122 Watt, James C. Y., and Maxwell K. Hearn. The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010. fig. 268, p. 253 Pomper, Linda Rosenfeld. "New Perspectives on Kinrande." Arts of Asia. 44, no. 5 (2014): 73-82. 75 EXHIBITION HISTORY When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998). The World of Kubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 20, 2010-January 2, 2011).