Page 24 - Chiense TExtiles, MET MUSEUM Pub 1934

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
ih the third century A. D. on~ of the Chinese emperors
sent brocades to the Japanese Empress Jingo. If this is
true, the weave undoubtedly was known in the Han
dynasty, buM'fO examples earlier than the Sung dynasty
are recognized by scholars today.
We cannot in this volume go into a detailed discus-
sion of the evolution of pattern, although it is of tre-
mendous importance in any serious study of textiles. It
should be noted, however, that many of these Han silks
show animal designs which were certainly as yet unin-
fluenced by the Occident- the patterns are not symmet-
rical, nor was any use made of the encircling motive,
and we find in the animal and bird motives a very close
similarity to those found on the Han reliefs. By the
T'ang dynasty, however, Persian influence was rampant
and the Chinese silks were turned out, not with their
former subtle all-over patterns of rolling clouds, scrolls,
and virile beasts, but with confronting animals neatly
framed in stiff borders and repeated ad nauseam, un-
doubtedly to please the foreign patrons of China with
their ideas of art based on Hellenistic precision :;~.nd limi-
tation. To one fumiliar with the pride and almost arro-
gant independence of the Chinese, it seems well-nigh
impossible to accept the theory often put forth that they
regarded these patterns as superior to their own; it
pleases us rather to believe that they were merely clever
enough at that early date to adopt the present-day motto,
"The customer is always right."
The T'ang dynasty textiles add to our list two new
I4