2-722-018 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

A Child’s Coat with Ducks in Pearl Medallions and a Child's Pants, 700s. This luxurious silk coat for a young prince displays ducks in pearl roundels alternating with cross-shaped lotus blossoms woven in five radiant colours of silk. The ducks are adorned with imperial motifs adopted from the previous Sasanian dynasty in Iran including pearl collars, flying ribbons, and a jeweled necklace in their beaks. This silk was woven in Iran or Sogdiana; however, it is lined with Chinese silk damask and has a pair of pants also made with Chinese silk damask, both decorated in an 8th-century style of the Tang Dynasty.