Kesa (Formerly Nō Costume)

Textiles

18th century, Edo period (1615–1868)

Japan

The fabric of this kesa was made from N̄ costume material probably woven at Nishijin, in Kyoto, for a wealthy samurai for a private theater. The allover pattern of colorful chrysanthemums was created in the kara-ori technique favored for N̄ costume fabrics, in which the long silk weft floats forming the pattern resemble embroidery. As with this kesa, upon the death of the owner the garment would have been donated by the family to her temple as a prayer offering to protect the deceased’s soul, thus also bringing honor to the family for making the gift.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Textiles

Title: Kesa (Formerly Nō Costume)
Place: Japan (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1701–1800
Medium: Silk; twill weave with supplementary patterning wefts
Dimensions: 109.2 × 178.1 cm (43 × 70 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Henry C. Schwab
Reference Number: 1943.869
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/48322/manifest.json

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.