A rare pair of red-ground and gold foil embroidered silk 'phoenix' bannersLiao DynastyEach banner delicately embroidered with three phoenix, the central one depicted standing facing outward, between two further phoenix depicted in flight with outspread wings and trailing long, flowing tail feathers, framed and glazed. Each 101cm (39 3/4in) long (3).注脚遼 紅地繡金絲彩鳳紋幡一對Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd., London, 20 March 1998John J. Studzinski, CBE 來源：英國倫敦古董商，Eskenazi Ltd.，1998年3月20日大英帝國司令勳章受勳者John J. Studzinski珍藏Phoenixes were traditionally associated with the figure of the empress in China. According to the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas', Shanhai jing, compiled during the Han dynasty, the mythical birds were amongst the fantastic creatures inhabiting the immortal lands of the Queen Mother of the West, and embodied all the qualities a queen must possess, such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity; see J.Rawson, Chinese Ornament: The lotus and the Dragon, London, 1984, pp.99-107. The tomb of Princess Chen (d.1080), excavated in Inner Mongolia, yielded a large variety of personal accoutrements made of precious materials such as gold, silver and brocaded silks decorated with scrolling phoenixes. In particular, the peacock-like tailed phoenix, noted on this lot, is very similar to the phoenix decorating a silver saddle found in this burial, illustrated in the Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Inner Mongolia, The Tomb of Liao Princess Chen, Beijing, 1993, pl.XXXII, no.1. In addition, the stylistic convention of surrounding phoenix with serpentine-like clouds, reminiscent of scrolling tendrils, can also be noted on a gold headdress and a pair of gilded silver boots, excavated from the same site, illustrated in ibid., pl.VIII, no.1 and pl.XVI, no.1.