Caption:
Textile with Confronted Birds, Tang dynasty (618–907), early 8th century, China, Silk embroidery on plain-weave silk, Overall: 12 1/4 x 12 1/8 in. (31.1 x 30.8 cm), Textiles-Embroidered, Although symmetry is a basic element of Chinese design, the motif of a pair of confronted animals or birds on either side of a plant was not known in China until the opening of the silk routes in the second century B