woman's robe, unknown maker from China

Exhibition Label: “Flowers, Dragons and Pine Trees: Asian Textiles in the Spencer Museum of Art,” Nov-2005, Mary Dusenbury This painterly depiction of a bamboo grove appears somewhat awkward and tentative, as if the artist were experimenting with a new way of thinking about costume design. There was a strong Japanese presence in China at the time the robe was made, and the artist was probably responding to a Japanese tradition of treating the whole garment as a single canvas. Perhaps he had seen examples of Japanese kimono patterned with a single motif sweeping from hem to shoulder.