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6. Buddhist monk’s mantle, kesa Japan second half of 19th c. silk and gold thread tapestry-weave |
Patchworked garments made for the Buddhist clergy, like this rectangular mantle or kesa, symbolized the vow of poverty. In our example, a rather luxurious silk tapestry, the patchwork is very discrete and disappears in a great scene which might appear on a folding screen. In it, a curtain decorated with paulonia and tatewaku is hung on tall rods in an imaginary landscape where plum trees flower at the same time as maple leaves are showing their autumn colors. It is behind such curtains that people sit to meditate on the changing seasons or watch sacred dances of bugaku offered in temple courtyards, suggested here by the large decorated drum and other musical instruments. Itemcode: 15 |