Untitled

Unknown

19th century · Cotton · Asian Art

The decoration of attush robes and those made from cotton, like this example, feature embroidery alone or both applique and embroidery. Most of the textiles applied to this robe are white, but both bright red and printed cotton were also used. The curvilinear embroidery, a comparatively fine tracery, contrasts with the wide applied bands. Ainu girls learned embroidery designs when they were very young--perhaps by drawing the patterns in the sand, as seen in a 1799 Japanese book illustration by Murakami Shimanojo in the Hakodate Municipal Library.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Cotton

Culture

Japan (Ainu)

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of John B. Elliott through the Mercer Trust, 1999