2013.78: Robe

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2013.78

Title

Robe

Classification

Textile Arts

Work Type

textile

Date

19th century

Places

Creation Place: Middle East, Iran

Culture

Central Asian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/211569

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Warp-faced satin foundaton with continuous and discontinuous patterning wefts

Dimensions

max. H. 120 x W. 152 cm (47 1/4 x 59 13/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Quill Jones (by 1919), sold; to Louis V. Ledoux Collection, New York (1919-1948), 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

2013.78

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Description

The distinctive cut of this robe—collarless with a wide neck, the skirt gathered under the arms and flaring over the hips, and a very full, tapering sleeve-- recalls the standard shape of the munisak, an outer garment worn on special occasions by wealthy Central Asian women in the nineteenth century and probably earlier. A munisak could be a relatively voluminous garment, for it was intended to be worn open, on top of several layers of silk dresses. The present attribution of the garment to nineteenth-century Central Asia is based on this similarity, plus the presence on the interior of strips of Central Asian ikat, used as an edging fabric.

This robe differs from most examples of munisaks preserved in public collections, however. These latter are usually made of ikat fabrics, while this blue robe is constructed of a draw-loom woven, warp-faced silk satin of as yet indeterminate origin. The patterning wefts of this blue fabric are both continuous (the “gold”-wrapped threads) and discontinuous (salmon pink and blue-green). The repeat unit of the pattern features four different blossoms on an undulating leafy vine, and measures 20.6 x 11.8 cm.

The elaborate treatment of the cuffs is not typical for Central Asian munisaks. On this robe, a long, but narrow cuff is constructed of several bands of the blue satin fabric. The wider sleeve is gathered in open “pleats” and tacked to the cuff.

Verification Level