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Motifs

Motif · Animals

Phoenix

봉황鳳凰bonghwang

Paired phoenixes, a court emblem of harmony, painted or stamped in gold.

Wishes for
Auspicious pair; marital harmony and court dignity

A pair of phoenixes in gold leaf (Met) and a painted medallion of facing phoenixes (V&A 당채보).

History & tradition

Court imagery; Joseon to 20th century

The phoenix is an auspicious court bird, and a pair suggests marital harmony. A 19th-century V&A hemp cloth painted in 당채 style, thought to be court-made possibly for a royal wedding, centres on facing phoenixes; a 20th-century Met cloth shows a gold-leaf pair.

Sources
  1. collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O22296
  2. metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/853909

Sources for this entry

  1. metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/853909
  2. collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O22296