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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2013.65
Title
Long-sleeved Wedding Overrobe (Uchikake) with Decoration of Cranes and Snow-Covered Pines
Classification
Textile Arts
Work Type
costume
Date
first half 19th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
Period
Edo period, 1615-1868
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/212005

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Resist-dyed red damask silk utilizing stitch-resist (nuishime shibori) and tie-dying (kanoko shibori) techniques; selected motifs embroidered with gold-paper-wrapped and polychrome silk threads
Technique
Embroidery
Dimensions
max. H. 165.1 x W. 119.4 cm (65 x 47 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Nomura Shojiro, Kyoto, by 1935], sold; to (Louis V. Ledoux Collection, New York (1935-1948), 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
2013.65
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
A white damask silk was dyed to a bright orange-red color to create the ground for this luxurious long-sleeved outer wedding robe with designs of cranes and pines. The white tufts of snow-laden pine branches that cover the body and right sleeve of the robe in a diagonal direction (both front and back) were created using the "nuishime shibori" stitch-resist dyeing technique, in which selected areas of fabric were stitched and pulled together before dyeing process, thus preserving those stitched-off areas reserved in white, predetermined shapes. The pine trunks and numerous crane's bodies were created utilizing the "kanoko shibori" tie-dye technique whereby multiple tiny areas of fabric were tied off before dyeing in order to preserve small circular areas of white fabric reserved, the tiny white spots combining to create forms and shapes when viewed from afar. Other elements, such as individual pine needles and cranes were embroidered using green, black, orange, yellow, and gold-paper-wrapped threads. The lower hem is padded.

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. 114-115, fig. A

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