Nō Robe (Surihaku-type)
Original Language Title能装束（摺箔）
CultureJapanese
Date1800-1849
MediumSilk with ikat weave and gold leaf
DimensionsOverall: 54 × 61 inches (137.16 × 154.94 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number32-142/3
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionBlue ground silk with ikat (kasuri) weave and gold leaf. No robe (Surihaku type) with seaweed and shell (mirugai) pattern.Exhibition HistoryMasterpieces of Japanese Art, Dallas Museum, Dallas, TX, Oct.4-Nov.30, 1969, no. 50.
Imagine an actor wearing these robes during a dramatic Nō theater performance. As he sweeps across the torch-lit stage, the robes' metallic adornments shimmer in the flickering light. The design of the green robe was based on an informal gown worn by ancient Japanese male courtiers around the home and while hunting. The blue robe was created for a male actor playing the role of a middle-aged or older woman. The striking design of these robes contributed to characters' auras of dignity and mystery.
Private collection, Osaka, Japan [1];
With Yamanaka & Co., New York, by June 8, 1932 [2];
Purchased from Yamanaka & Co., through Langdon Warner (1881-1955), by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1932.
NOTES:
[1] According to H. Yamanaka, Yamanaka & Co., in a letter to Langdon Warner, Nelson-Atkins advisor, June 8, 1932, Harvard University, Langdon Warner Personal Archive, box 13, folder 3, copy in Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.
[2] This was no. 20 on a list of offered textiles included with H. Yamanaka's letter [see note 1].
With Yamanaka & Co., New York, by June 8, 1932 [2];
Purchased from Yamanaka & Co., through Langdon Warner (1881-1955), by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1932.
NOTES:
[1] According to H. Yamanaka, Yamanaka & Co., in a letter to Langdon Warner, Nelson-Atkins advisor, June 8, 1932, Harvard University, Langdon Warner Personal Archive, box 13, folder 3, copy in Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.
[2] This was no. 20 on a list of offered textiles included with H. Yamanaka's letter [see note 1].
Dallas
Museum, Masterpieces of Japanese Art, exh.
cat. (Dallas: Dallas Museum, 1969) cat.
50.
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