Kimono with Blossoming Plum Tree

Kimono with Blossoming Plum Tree

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Paste-resist dyeing, along with skillful use of a shading technique, finely renders the gradual progression from white to dark gray on this garment. Early Meiji period kimonos often have gray or black grounds and decoration concentrated along the hemline. Here, the plum tree, painted in ink and pigments and embroidered with silk and occasional glints of gold, seems to glow in soft moonlight, while the rest of the robe is in shadow. The design scheme is based on the kosode style that became popular among chōnin women at the end of the Edo period (1615–1868). Since the left panel overlaps the right, much of the plum-tree pattern would ordinarily be obscured, coming to light only as the wearer walked. Another plum tree is hidden on the lining inside the underflap.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kimono with Blossoming Plum TreeKimono with Blossoming Plum TreeKimono with Blossoming Plum TreeKimono with Blossoming Plum TreeKimono with Blossoming Plum Tree

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.