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Iida Shinshichi

Gown,

Description

Maker

  • Takashimaya, retailer
  • Iida Shinshichi, active mid 1800s-mid 1900s, Japanese

Culture

Japanese

Title

Gown

Medium

Plain weave silk, embroidered, kumihimo (cord), and fuki (padded hem)

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • silk

Dimensions

Length: 144.8 cm (57 inches) shoulder to hem

Signature / Inscription / Marks

S. Iida. "Takashimaya" Silks & Embroideries Kyoto

Type

  • Fashion,
  • Costume

Credit

Gift of the Heirs of Mrs. Zechariah Chafee

Object Number

46.053

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Queen of the Insects

December 11, 2009 - May 9, 2010

These garments were made by two of the most iconic design houses and retailers in Japanese history. The designer Hanae Mori has employed the butterfly as her signature design inspiration in a career spanning more than fifty years. In this dress, her deft melding of Eastern design with Western tastes is exemplified by the kimono-style sleeve, which is married with an abstracted version of an Indonesian-style pattern of botanicals and butterflies. Compare the style of the butterflies on the textile of this dress with the sarong in the case to your left, an Indonesian silk batik print fabric. Active since 1831, Takashimaya played a key role in disseminating the Japanese aesthetic after the opening of Japan to trade with the West in 1854. Some twentyfive years later, Takashimaya was represented at numerous international expositions, including the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. This robe, designed for the Western market, may have been collected
at such an event, given the excellent quality of needlework and design expressed in its overall composition.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Gown with the accession number of 46.053. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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