Song Dynasty. 960-1279 A.D

China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou

H79cm, W39cm

Gathered by a piece of plain silk tabby on top for the waist, with a belt attached to one side, this pair of skirt-pants is joined in the middle down to the crotch. The trouser legs are split to the sides and straight down to the bottom. Shaped more like a skirt than a pair of trousers, this item may be better described as skirt-pants. The material is a 3-doup end warp-faced self-patterned twill. There are three different patterns, a twigged floral motif, a lozenge pattern and the assorted-treasures motifs. The twigged floral motif indicates a fresh and representational aesthetic approach during the Song dynasty, while the assorted treasures motifs indicate the start of a transition in silk textile design towards genre subjects and auspicious symbols that were to come in great varieties and have long lasting influences. (XY)