Object Note
Part of a set of five (kimono)s purchased together from the same source along with (ZI2017.500481 ASIA, ZI2017.500482 ASIA, ZI2017.500483 ASIA, ZI2017.500484 ASIA).
Object History
This exquisite figure (damask) (satin) (kimono) was purchased by Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli in 2017 by Ms. Manami Tominaga, a Japanese lady living in the UAE. It was purchased to enhance The Zay Initiative’s collection along with four more (ZI2017.500481 ASIA, ZI2017.500482 ASIA, ZI2017.500483 ASIA, ZI2017.500484 ASIA).
Object Features
This is an ivory satin (rinzu) or figured damask woman’s kimono embellished with printed designs in shades of green, peach, yellow, and blue with red and gold highlights. It has long sleeves with triple openings making it a woman’s (furisode_kimono).
It has overall large kaleidoscopic floral motifs primarily in green with peach highlights along a plain green banner that curls around the garment.
Apart from the floral roundels sections of the piece are filled with diamond-shaped motifs created by gold lines on a green field as well as floral and foliage motifs in gold foil on ivory. The left shoulder and the left front fall are embellished with (couching) embroidery with golden metal thread as well as (satin_stitch) embroidery in coral silk floss thread.
The lining of the piece is plain ivory satin on the top half. The bottom, underside of the collars and sleeves are lined with a similar damask fabric which has been dyed into a rich shade of peach at the bottom.
A metal snap is attached to the back of the neck probably to secure it well while wearing. There is a maker’s tag on the neck of the piece that proves it was either made by or bought from Matsuzakaya one of the oldest department stores in the world that first opened its doors to the public in Kyoto in c. 1611.
It is interesting to note that from the early Edo period – 1603-1868 – furisode_kimono characterized by their long sleeves had become the standard formal wear for unmarried women. The use of green and peach in this piece testifies that this furisode_kimono was made for an unmarried woman’s springtime wardrobe.
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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