橘草紙散模様打掛|Woman's Overrobe (Uchikake) with Books and Mandarin Orange Branches

Unknown

first half of the 19th century · Embroidery in silk and metallic thread; appliqué of resist-dyed (shibori) silk fabrics on silk satin damask · Asian Art

Books with varying decorative covers appear amid the colorful fruit and flowers on the mandarin orange branches of this outer robe (uchikake). The presence of books reflects the rise in publishing and literacy during the Edo period, while the poetic and congratulatory themes of the covers evoke the aristocratic culture of the Heian period (794–1185) and auspicious patterns associated with celebration. See, for example, the dewy autumn grasses on the red book on the back of the right sleeve, and the cranes in flight on the white book on the back of the left sleeve. In the late Edo period, outer robes of this type were made as formal garments for young women from wealthy merchant families to wear for weddings and special occasions.

Artist

Unknown

Date

first half of the 19th century

Medium

Embroidery in silk and metallic thread; appliqué of resist-dyed (shibori) silk fabrics on silk satin damask

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse, 1972