Add to Collection

Add this item to an existing or new collection.
Harvard Art Museums
Incorrect Username, Email, or Password
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2013.68
Title
Buddhist Priest's Robe (Kesa) with Decoration of Phoenixes (Hō-ō) and Flowers amid Clouds
Classification
Textile Arts
Work Type
costume
Date
18th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
Period
Edo period, 1615-1868
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/211944

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Pale green-blue silk with cloud motifs painted in gold pigment; additional motifs embroidered in polychrome silk and gold threads
Dimensions
H. 104.1 x W. 200.7 cm (41 x 79 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Roland Koscherak, NY, by 1932], sold; to Louis V. Ledoux Collection, New York (1932-1948), 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
2013.68
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
A Buddhist priest's robe known in Japan as a kesa (Sanskrit, kasaya), this rectangular garment is made up of mulitple pieces of the same cloth that together form a patchwork of rectangles and squares framed within a border. The fabric is a pale green-blue silk decorated with long-tailed phoenixes, flowers, and golden clouds. The phoenixes and flowers were embroidered utilizing multicolored silk threads; selected outlines of motifs were embroidered with gold threads. The clouds were hand-painted on using gold pigments.

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