Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Over Robe (Uchikake) with Scenes from The Tales of Ise
Not on view
The unusual design on this uchikake looks like selected sections from a painting (maybe a handscroll) depicting the Tales of Ise, though the representation of the classic story is very modern. The scene has finely executed details, such as the textile curtain in the middle of the back panels, and the design is carried to the inside of the robe at the bottom.
This garment was purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (1850–1926). Much of Bigelow’s collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1890, before later donating them to their collection.
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