Object History
This beautiful (kimono) in black (chirimen) silk was purchased by Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli in 2017 from a dealer in London to add to The Zay Initiative’s collection.
Object Features
This is an exquisitely embroidered black kimono-style calf-length women’s robe with dense colourful embroidery on its back. It is very similar to (ZI2019.500923 ASIA), however, the latter is in (yuzen_print) technique.
The front of the kimono has a very balanced design distribution with both the collars and the sleeves displaying similar (satin_stitch) embroidered patterns of floral motifs in silk floss threads.
The entire field of the back of the kimono is heavily embroidered with silk floss threads of different colours. It is worth noting that this stitch is done in two layers whereby the first layer to create the designs is done in thick cotton threads which are then covered with another layer but in silk floss threads thus forming a relief on the garment.
The back of the kimono depicts an idyllic countryside scene with a waterbody and a garden filled with cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums and other flowers in shades of pink and yellow, pines and firs in shades of green, and birds in flight in shades of blue, grey, and beige. The piece is hand-stitched and is lined with black (satin) fabric.
The condition of this piece speaks volumes of its years of wear and tear, with quite a few places being torn especially around the collars and the embroidery.
The absence of typical characteristics present in a traditional kimono in this piece suggests that perhaps it was made for the European market and was possibly won with a waistband. It has a very close resemblance to another piece in the collection in red (ZI2017.500744.1 ASIA) also made for a western market.
While the origin of certain techniques and methods in textiles like satin_stitch embroidery can be traced to China, and its spread across the world could be attributed to the Silk Road, other similar techniques and styles are believed to have originated independently in different regions of the world almost simultaneously in human history possibly from necessity and convenience.
Though The Zay Initiative is concerned mainly with the dress and adornment heritage of the Arab world, it does include in its collection articles from areas outside the region. These tend to be collected to illustrate specific shared elements and influences attesting that the Arab world never existed in a vacuum. It constantly drew, and continues to draw, inspiration and influences from the cultures it comes in contact with be it through trade or geopolitical circumstances, especially those countries within the old silk route.
Therefore, one cannot but draw parallels between many techniques used in such garments, such as (couching) and thread knotting techniques (macrame), or flat metal adornment (talli), that are quite similar to those found in different parts of the Arab region.
The kimono, in particular, displays similarities that can be drawn with the pattern of Arab women’s overgarment or the (thawb), common to the Gulf region, constructed of three uncut panels of broad clothes forming the central body panel and the side sleeve panels very similar in shape to the kimono.
Links
- Morishima, Yuki, et al. Kimono Refashioned: Japan’s Impact on International Fashion. USA, Asian Art Museum, 2018.
- Kahlenberg, Mary Hunt. Asian Costumes and Textiles: From the Bosphorus to Fujiama. Italy, Skira, 2001.
- Liddell, Jill. The Story of the Kimono. USA, E P Dutton, 1989.
- Dalby, Liza Crihfield. Kimono: Fashioning Culture. Reaktion Books, 1993.
- Gluckman, Dale Carolyn and Sharon Sadako Takeda. When Art Became Fashion: Kosode in Edo-Period Japan. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1996.
- Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk. 27 Aug. – 25 Oct. 2020, V&A South Kensington, London https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/kimono-kyoto-to-catwalk
- Gluckman, Dale Carolyn. “Liza Dalby. Kimono: Fashioning Culture.:Kimono: Fashioning Culture.” Museum Anthropology, vol. 19, no. 1, Mar. 1995, pp. 79–81. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1525/mua.1995.19.1.79
- “Meisen Kimono From HALI 184 – HALI.” HALI, 24 July 2015, hali.com/news/meisen-kimono.
- Kimono Style: Edo Traditions to Modern Design: The John C. Weber Collection. USA, Met Publications, www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Kimono_Style
- Kimono Refashioned. 8 Feb. – 5 May, 2019, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco https://exhibitions.asianart.org/exhibitions/kimono-refashioned/
- Takeda, Sharon Sadako. Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 49, no. 2, 1994, pp. 245–47. JSTOR,https://doi.org/10.2307/2385177. Accessed 10 May 2023.
- Guth, Christine. Journal of Japanese Studies, vol. 20, no. 2, 1994, pp. 518–22. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/133209. Accessed 10 May 2023.
- Richard, Naomi Noble. “Nō Motifs in the Decoration of a Mid-Edo Period Kosode.” Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 25, 1990, pp. 175–83. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1512899. Accessed 10 May 2023.
- Kramer, Elizabeth. “Review of ‘Kimono: A Modern History.’” Reviews in History, School of Advanced Study, 2015. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14296/rih/2014/1787.
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