Dragon-boat festival performance
This intricate tapestry depicts a celebration held on the fifth day of the fifth month in the traditional Chinese calendar (late May or early June). Known as the dragon-boat festival, the tradition honors the ancient poet and statesman Qu Yuan (ca. 340–278 BCE), who was renowned for his epic poem Encountering Sorrow (Lisao). Facing the vicious invasion of the Qin state and the dark politics of the Chu government, Qu drowned himself in a river and became a martyr. The dragon-boat competition, the day’s most celebratory activity, became a popular motif to repel evil.
Artwork Details
- 清 緙絲龍舟競渡圖
- Title: Dragon-boat festival performance
- Artist: Unidentified artist Chinese
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: late 18th to early 19th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Silk and metal thread tapestry (kesi)
- Dimensions: 30 × 42 1/2 in. (76.2 × 108 cm)
Pressure-mounted: 35 × 47 × 1 1/2 in. (88.9 × 119.4 × 3.8 cm) - Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
- Credit Line: Bequest of Alice E. Getty, 1949
- Object Number: 49.47
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Unidentified artist
ca. 1383
Chinese
late 16th–early 17th century
China
19th century
Unidentified artist
14th century
Chinese
1368–1644
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