A wide silk robe hung with its sleeves straight out. The coat is patterned with large checkered squares that are tan, blue, purple, orange. There is also a thin, golden geometric pattern all over. Large embroidered flowers and leaves go across the sleeves and along the bottom hem.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A silk robe hung with its sleeves straight out on a white faded background. The robe is wide, long and hangs straight down. The center edges overlap.The outstretched sleeves are also wide but are short enough to reach about halfway down the coat. The coat is patterned with large checkered squares that are tan, blue, purple, orange. There is also a thin, golden geometric star pattern all over. Large embroidered flowers and leaves go across the sleeves and along the bottom hem. The flowers are bright blues, red, white, purple, and yellows. The long, thin leaves are bright green.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2013.67
Title
Nō Robe (Karaori) with Decoration of Irises over an Alternating-Color Block Ground with Basketweave Pattern
Classification
Textile Arts
Work Type
costume
Date
early 18th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
Period
Edo period, 1615-1868
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/211983

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Multicolored ikat-dyed silk with patterning in supplementary gold wefts; floral motifs embroidered with polychrome silk threads
Dimensions
H. 148.7 x W. 143.8 cm (58 9/16 x 56 5/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Marquis Ikeda Collection. [Yamanaka and Company, Kyoto, by 1934],sold; to Louis V. Ledoux Collection, New York (1934-1948), by descent; to his son L. Pierre Ledoux, New York (1948-2001), by inheritance; to his widow Joan F. Ledoux, New York, (2001-2013), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2013.

Footnotes:
1. Louis V. Ledoux (1880-1948)
2. L. Pierre Ledoux (1912-2001)
3. On long term loan to Harvard Art Museums from 1985 to 2013.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Louis V. Ledoux Collection; Gift of Mrs. L. Pierre Ledoux in memory of her husband
Accession Year
2013
Object Number
2013.67
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
This magnificent robe decorated with irises was made as a costume for young female roles in the aristocratic all-male Nō theater. Silk threads resist-dyed in alternating colors of blue, lavender, and orange were woven into a fabric that created color blocks in a large checkerboard-like fashion. Supplementary wefts of gold were interwoven into the main fabric to create a complex basketweave pattern. Multicolored silk threads were utlized to embroider images of iris blossoms and leaves over the color-block and basketweave patterns.

Publication History

  • Julia Meech, "Louis V. Ledoux: Collector of Japanese Textiles", Impressions, Japanese Art Society of America (Lexington, 2022), No. 43: part one of double issue, pp. 99-128, pp. 115, fig. C

Exhibition History

  • Masterworks of Ukiyo-e, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 07/20/1996 - 01/12/1997
  • Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo: Botanical Motifs and Symbols in East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 07/06/2002 - 01/05/2003
  • Cultivating Virtue: Botanical Motifs and Symbols in East Asian Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/08/2006 - 04/08/2007
  • 32Q: 2600 East Asian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/03/2015 - 06/07/2016

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu