Summer Kimono with Design of Plovers, Waves, Chinese Bellflowers, Pinks, Pines, Carriages, and Fences

Summer Kimono with Design of Plovers, Waves, Chinese Bellflowers, Pinks, Pines, Carriages, and Fences

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This light, silk gauze summer kimono has a traditional design, depicting court carriages (gosho-kuruma), pinks, bellflowers, and pines along with flying plovers and flowing water. The court carriage pattern was traditionally associated with the aristocracy and for a long time only high-ranking ladies wore kimonos embellished with that pattern. The court carriage also alludes to the Tale of Genji. Against the light grey ground, the flowers and carriages are depicted in white with pastel hues, while the plovers are black.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Summer Kimono with Design of Plovers, Waves, Chinese Bellflowers, Pinks, Pines, Carriages, and FencesSummer Kimono with Design of Plovers, Waves, Chinese Bellflowers, Pinks, Pines, Carriages, and FencesSummer Kimono with Design of Plovers, Waves, Chinese Bellflowers, Pinks, Pines, Carriages, and FencesSummer Kimono with Design of Plovers, Waves, Chinese Bellflowers, Pinks, Pines, Carriages, and FencesSummer Kimono with Design of Plovers, Waves, Chinese Bellflowers, Pinks, Pines, Carriages, and Fences

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.