museum grade and very rare antique imperial Chinese dragon silk brocade textile fragment (stitched on cloth and ready for stretching), dating to the late Ming dynasty. The Chinese imperial dynasties went on for many centuries at a time. The Ming dynasty ran from 1368-1644 and it was one of the most advanced and luxuries dynasties producing some of the most incredible textiles in the silk road. Even back then such silk fabrics were valued as much as gold, if not more. This exceptional example boasts all the finesse of the Ming silks. The weaving is meticulous and so fine. The intricacy with which the designs are executed is mind blowing. a good fragment showing half of the dragon with wonderful classic Ming clouds and parts of the crane near the top. The detail is incredible. Such textiles would have been used to cover an imperial chair and when the chair is got rid of, the silk is taken out and saved. For its age, it is in acceptable over all shape. Would look great mounted or framed. Offered at a fair price for the quality it is. Much nicer than the photos. size of the brocade is: 59cm x 16cm (23” x 16”) with the orange back cloth significantly larger. ……. (If you message via rugrabbit and don’t get a response within 24 hours, then your message hasn’t got to us so please email directly to: istalificollections@outlook.com.)