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Late 18th century 5-clawed dragon silk textile. Made up in Tibet around 1900 as a ceiling hanging for use over a Tibetan Altar, incorporating late 19th century rainbow tassels. From Norbulinka – the summer palace at Lhasa. The textiles and construction of this hanging, particularly the high quality of the stitching and the rainbow tassels, are characteristic of hangings made at the end of the 19th century and used in the summer residence at Norbulingka, where this hanging originated from.
Both ends of the hanging are finished with identical rainbow tassels, though only one end is shown in the photograph above. The hanging is made of two pieces of full loom-width dragon brocade, with extra material added at the right hand edge to make a wider hanging. It was probably hung horizontally, with the tassels hanging down on either side of the altar. |
