One of Four Panels of Textile Fragments: Indigo Brocades

Description

Textiles have been collected, catalogued, and discussed in Japan since at least the tenth century. Scraps of fabric from garments, banners, monk’s robes, or sutra covers would be carefully labeled and preserved in thick notebooks. For the royal court and the Buddhist church, both deeply conservative organizations, textiles were tangible records of precedent: it was important to keep track of what patterns and which colors were appropriate for hundreds of annual ceremonial occasions. In the West, of course, different concerns motivated collectors: we show here four panels of textile fragments mounted by an American collector in the heyday of the Art Deco movement, when Japanese design was very much in vogue. A sense of play is evident in the selection and arrangement of pieces. In this panel, featuring a variety of indigo-dyed twill silks and brocades, note how the cut-out shapes take into account the patterns in the fabric.
Exhibited in "Japanese Costumes & Ceramics, Past & Present," October 2001-February 2002. Maribeth Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art

Textiles have been collected, catalogued, and discussed in Japan since at least the tenth century. For the imperial court and Buddhist temples, both deeply conservative organizations, textiles were tangible records of precedent: it was important to keep track of what patterns and which colors were appropriate for hundreds of annual ceremonial occasions. Scraps of fabric from garments, banners, monastic robes, and sutra covers were carefully labeled and preserved in thick notebooks.
These four panels of textile fragments featuring a variety of indigo-dyed twill silks and brocades were mounted by a modern Japanese collector and later purchased by an American industrialist and art patron in the heyday of the Art Deco movement, when Japanese design was very much in vogue. A sense of play is evident in the selection and arrangement of the pieces: the cut-out shapes, for example, take into account the patterns in the fabric.
Winter 2011 Gallery Rotation
Panel of textile fragments: indigo brocades
Japan, late Meiji Period (1868–1912) to
Taishô Period (1912–1926)
Silk brocade (nishiki)
Transfer from the College of Architecture and Design, 1972/2.44.3
Textiles have been collected, catalogued, and discussed in Japan since at least the tenth century. For the imperial court and Buddhist temples, both deeply conservative organizations, textiles were tangible records of precedent: it was important to keep track of what patterns and which colors were appropriate for hundreds of annual ceremonial occasions. Scraps of fabric from garments, banners, monastic robes, and sutra covers were carefully labeled and preserved in thick notebooks.
These four panels of textile fragments featuring a variety of indigo-dyed twill silks and brocades were mounted by a modern Japanese collector and later purchased by an American industrialist and art patron in the heyday of the Art Deco movement, when Japanese design was very much in vogue. A sense of play is evident in the selection and arrangement of the pieces: the cut-out shapes, for example, take into account the patterns in the fabric.