Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Morning Gown (Rock)

Japan, for Dutch market

Not on view

In 1641 the Dutch received a highly profitable privilege: they became the only European power permitted by the shogunate to trade with Japan. This fashionable morning gown, with a pattern featuring auspicious drawstring money bags, was made in Japan especially for Dutch traders who acquired such garments as gifts for high-level Dutch East India Company executives. Wider than typical Japanese silks, the fabric may have been a Chinese import. In construction, rocken resemble Japanese kimonos, as both lack shoulder seams and have two long pieces of cloth extended unbroken over the shoulders, comprising the right and the left sides. The sleeves, however, are attached to the robe in a manner more typical of Western dress.

Morning Gown (Rock), Silk (resist-dyed and painted); silk lining and filling, Japan, for Dutch market

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.