Cape

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Japanese kappa were originally adapted from the capes worn by Portuguese missionary priests in the sixteenth century. (The Japanese word for priest is bozu.) Although at first capes were worn only by high-ranking samurai, by the eighteenth century commoners were wearing them for travel, and they are occasionally seen in travel prints of the nineteenth century. This semicircular reversible cape is made up of eighteen wedge-shaped pieces of warp-and-weft ikat (tate-yoko-gasuri) cotton plain weave. It is interlined with paper for warmth.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art