Unlined Summer Kimono (Hito-e) with Dragonflies and Stream

ca. 1920–30s

Not on view

Groups of blue and red dragonflies flutter against a light beige ground adorned with lavender swirling streams. The lightness of this summer kimono is conveyed through the fragility and delicacy of the dragonflies’ stylized bodies. Dragonflies evoke the evanescent and fleeting nature of the seasons as well as the passage of time, from summer to autumn.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

生成地蜻蛉流水模様単衣
Title: Unlined Summer Kimono (Hito-e) with Dragonflies and Stream
Period: Shōwa period (1926–89)
Date: ca. 1920–30s
Culture: Japan
Medium: Printed silk
Dimensions: 60 1/4 × 51 in. (153 × 129.5 cm)
Classification: Costumes
Credit Line: Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2018
Object Number: 2018.562
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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