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Unknown Maker, Japanese

Nō Theater Costume (Nuihaku)

Description

Maker

Unknown Maker, Japanese

Culture

Japanese

Title

Nō Theater Costume (Nuihaku)

Year

1875-1910

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

silk

Dimensions

Center back length: 125.1 cm (49 1/4 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich

Object Number

55.380

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

  • Books

Patterns and Poetry: Nō Robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection

No robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. A beautiful and informative publication on the RISD Museum's collection of costumes for the Japanese No theater. This collection, arguably the finest in the United States, was assembled largely on the spot in Japan during the 1920's by Rhode Islander Lucy Truman Aldrich, sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The 47 robes came to the Museum by gift and bequest from Miss Aldrich herself and represent all categories of No costume. Four essays document the history of the collection, including Miss Aldrich's encounter with Chinese bandits; poetic allusion in the imagery of the robes; the traditional methods of making No robes; and the evolution of No costume over 650 years. Individual entries with color illustrations discuss each of the 47 objects.

Susan Anderson Hay, Curator of Costumes and Textiles, RISD Museum of Art Monica Bethe, Independent Scholar, Japan Helen M. Nagata, former Curator of Asian Art, RISD Museum of Art Iwao Nagasaki, Curator and Scholar at the National Museum, Tokyo, Japan

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Asian Art Galleries
Jun 10, 2014

Label copy

This small robe with embroidery and gold-leaf embellishment (nuihaku) may have costumed a young male actor playing a young girl. Rendered in complex embroidery, mandarin orange and cherry branches appear to be enmeshed in the clouds that overhang the bamboo blinds, which are also embroidered. 

The Applied Image
Mar 11, 1998 – Jun 21, 1998

Label copy

This early twentieth-century No robe echoes the taste of the Edo Period (1603-1867) in its large horizontal planes of color and randomly scattered patterns. The decoration on this under robe refers to the nuihaku tradition of ornamentation, in which the technique of embroidery and surihaku (applied metallic leaf) are combined. The artist used couching to create the trompe l'oeil effect of the blinds and also to depict the cherry and mandarin-orange branches scattered on the tan satin background. In addition to couching, the embroiderer also has used stem stitch, satin stitch, long and short satin stitch, and knot stitch.

Patterns and Poetry
Noh Robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection
Oct 21, 1994 – Jan 22, 1995
The Art of the Kimono
Apr 17, 1992 – Jul 11, 1992

Related Publications

Related Publications

  • Books

Patterns and Poetry: Nō Robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection

No robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. A beautiful and informative publication on the RISD Museum's collection of costumes for the Japanese No theater. This collection, arguably the finest in the United States, was assembled largely on the spot in Japan during the 1920's by Rhode Islander Lucy Truman Aldrich, sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The 47 robes came to the Museum by gift and bequest from Miss Aldrich herself and represent all categories of No costume. Four essays document the history of the collection, including Miss Aldrich's encounter with Chinese bandits; poetic allusion in the imagery of the robes; the traditional methods of making No robes; and the evolution of No costume over 650 years. Individual entries with color illustrations discuss each of the 47 objects.

Susan Anderson Hay, Curator of Costumes and Textiles, RISD Museum of Art Monica Bethe, Independent Scholar, Japan Helen M. Nagata, former Curator of Asian Art, RISD Museum of Art Iwao Nagasaki, Curator and Scholar at the National Museum, Tokyo, Japan

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Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Japanese
Nō Theater Costume (Nuihaku), 1875-1910
Silk satin weave with silk- and metallic-thread embroidery (couching, long and short satin stitch, stem stitch, satin stitch, and knot stitch)
Center back length: 125.1 cm (49 1/4 inches)
Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.380

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