Summer Kimono (Hito-e) with Swirls

1920s–30s

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

While the rendering of the swirl (uzumaki) motif on this unlined kimono is very modern, the spiral, or vortex, pattern has a long history in Japan. It appears on ancient Jōmon pottery (ca. 10,500–ca. 300 B.C.). In the Edo period (1615–1868) small swirl motifs were often used as background in complex compositions depicting rivers. This summer kimono’s large swirls of white on a dark green ground are a blown-up, stylized version of the motif and reflect the influence of Western art and the contemporary Art Deco aesthetic.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

白絽地渦巻模様単衣
Title: Summer Kimono (Hito-e) with Swirls
Period: Taishō (1912–26) or Shōwa (1926–89) period
Date: 1920s–30s
Culture: Japan
Medium: Printed gauze-weave (ro) silk with twisted wefts
Dimensions: 63 3/4 in. × 49 in. (161.9 × 124.5 cm)
Classification: Costumes
Credit Line: Promised Gift of John C. Weber
Curatorial Department: Asian Art