Kesa
1875–1900
- Medium
- Silk and gilt-paper strip; twill weave with secondary binding warps and supplementary patterning wefts with couched plied silk; silk cords
- Dimensions
- 119.2 × 199.5 cm (46 7/8 × 78 1/2 in.)
- Genre
- textile
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
liturgical - buddhistsilk (fiber)edo (japanese period)costumeTextilepaper (fiber product)weaving
About
This vestment represents deluxe production that combines a complicated pattern with lavish materials. Round medallions containing a dragon or crane are set against a network of sinuous interlaced wisteria scrolls on a dense and rich gold ground of gilt-paper strip (kinran). The kesa survives in fine condition complete with its matching stole. A very similar robe, but with roundels containing pairs of birds, belongs to the Musée des Tissus in Lyon, France.