Dark blue-ground lined winter robe (watajin) with dog pawprint pattern and yellow-ground lining with ivy, chrysanthemum, and bamboo grass pattern, second half 19th century
Unknown Ryukyuanexpand_more
The John R. Van Derlip Fund and the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; purchase from the Thomas Murray Collectionexpand_more 2019.20.192
Not on Viewexpand_more
Made from two luxury fabrics, this lined winter robe showcases the height of elite possibility for Ryūkyūan nobility before the kingdom’s annexation by Japan in 1879. The indigo-dyed cotton exterior features a grid of thin yellow and red stripes, in which a stylized geometric motif called dog pawprint pattern is placed using the Yomitanzan hanaori floating-relief weft technique. People in the village of Yomitan originally executed the technique after its transmission from Southeast Asia in the 15th century. Sumptuary laws restricted textiles made with this enormously time-consuming technique to the royal family, noblemen, and, on special occasions, the people of Yomitan.
The interior is a yellow-ground cotton with interconnected ivy, chrysanthemum, and bamboo grass dyed with bingata, the process of stencil dyeing with resist paste.
Details
- Title
- Dark blue-ground lined winter robe (watajin) with dog pawprint pattern and yellow-ground lining with ivy, chrysanthemum, and bamboo grass pattern
- Role
- Maker
- Accession Number
- 2019.20.192
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murray et al. 2018, pl. 145
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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