41 | A FIVE-DRAGON KOSSU Wan Li period 1573-1619 AD Ming dynasty China The large silk textile depicts a central dragon that faces the viewer directly. It is flanked, above and below, by four other dragons shown from the side; each confronts its own flaming pearl and is set amongst clouds - all against an orange red ground, with rocks and crashing waves below. Above the dragons, a border of stylised leaves divides this scene from the upper part of the kossu, where two phoenix birds face one another - their feathers streaming behind. The birds are divided by a single peony surrounded by leaves - all amongst clouds, against a dark blue ground. The kossu is remarkable for the number of vivid colours that have been used. These include four shades of blue and green - as well as brown, black, cream, salmon pink, ochre, yellow, red, and orange. Gold thread is used as an outline throughout the design - highlighting blocks of colour - and also over wider areas such as the faces, scales and claws of the dragons. The textile is framed by a woven silk border in two tones of dark blue, and decorated with a bold cloud design. Size: 8'6" x 6'9 ½" / 2 m 59 cm x 2 m 07 cm Similar example: 'Chinese Art' by R. Soame Jenyns, Phaidon Press, 1981 - page 73, no. 36 depicts a kossu of a dragon surmounted by two phoenix birds. Also: 'L'art de l'ancienne Chine' by William Watson, Mazenod, Paris 1979, fig. 688 - from the Seattle Art Museum. 'Heavens Embroidered Cloths - One Hundred Years of Chinese Textiles', Hong Kong Museum of Art 1995 - fig.6; this unmarked kesi hanging (depicting two phoenix birds amongst peonies) is similar - in terms of style, size, and variety of colour.