Rank badge – double phoenix

Object Details

• Description

  "Ming-period insignia (rank) badge woven in the kesi (slit, or discontinuous-weft, tapestry) tecnhique that depicts a band of swirling water at the bottom, behind which a blue rock sits flanked by two peony flowers. A phoenix perches on the rock. A second phoenix flies amongst elongated clouds in the sky, swooping down towards its mate. The tail feathers of the phoenixes are slightly differentiated, which likely indicates a male/female pair. Tails with barbed feathers indicate a male and a scrolling tail indicates a female. The two tails here are not clearly enough differentiaed to be certain about the bird's gender, but it appears likely it is the female is descending.The badge has faded unevenly with more fading on the viewer's right side."

• Provenance

  In 1986

  Spink & Son, London, purchased from a Tibetan family [1]

  From 1986 to 2017

  Shirley Z. Johnson, purchased in April 1986 from Spink & Son, Ltd. [2]

  From 2017

  Freer Galley of Art, given by Shirley Z. Johnson in 2017

  Notes

  [1] Jacqueline Simcox of Spink & Son informed Shirley Z. Johnson at the time of the acquisition that the object belong to a Tibetan family residing in London, and was presumably brought with them when they fled the country in the 1950s.

  See Jacqueline Simcox to Shirley Z. Johnson, June 27, 1986.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Shirley Z. Johnson

• Type

  Costume and Textile

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s, 1550s

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Water, Shirley Z. Johnson collection, Art, Peony, Chinese Art, Cloud, Phoenix, Rocks, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Slit tapestry

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Costume, Textiles