Stencil with Pattern of Landscape with Boat, Hut, and Figures

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Three tiny figures relax near a rustic pavilion in a spare shoreline setting that calls to mind an ink landscape painting. Even the shapes of some of the cutout areas of the stencil resemble the ink strokes that can be found in a painting. A stencil of this type was clearly not meant to create overall patterning. Instead, it might have been used in the making of a kimono decorated with scattered landscape vignettes, reserved in white by applying resist paste through one or more stencils and then dyeing the background. Embroidered and painted details may also have enlivened the scenes.

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