Noh Robe (Karaori) with Tortoise Shell Pattern and Crane Lozenges

Noh Robe (Karaori) with Tortoise Shell Pattern and Crane Lozenges

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The auspicious combination of crane and tortoise motifs has long been a staple of Japanese decoration. Here it is elegantly stylized in lozenge-shaped confronting pairs of cranes on a ground motif of interlocking hexagons representing the tortoiseshell. A similar robe preserved at Itsukushima Shrine is dated to 1826.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Noh Robe (Karaori) with Tortoise Shell Pattern and Crane LozengesNoh Robe (Karaori) with Tortoise Shell Pattern and Crane LozengesNoh Robe (Karaori) with Tortoise Shell Pattern and Crane LozengesNoh Robe (Karaori) with Tortoise Shell Pattern and Crane LozengesNoh Robe (Karaori) with Tortoise Shell Pattern and Crane Lozenges

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.