early 17th century

Asian Art

Not on view

Screens depicting sumptuous garments draped over stands, known as Whose Sleeves? (Tagasode), became popular during the transition between the Momoyama and Edo periods. The term tagasode can be traced back to classic love poems and is a provocative theme, inviting viewers to speculate on the possible owners of such gorgeous clothing. This screen shows several garments, including a child’s kimono with an attached long sash at the upper left, and may have been intended as a wedding gift. As the visual effect of a kimono was augmented by the scent of the wearer, the painting also awakens multiple senses. Screens of this type incorporate different fabric designs and techniques such as embroidery and tie-dyeing, illustrating trends from the late sixteenth and the early seventeenth century.

Medium

Six-panel folding screen: ink and mineral pigments on gold foiled paper

Dimensions

65 1/2 × 143 1/2 in. (166.4 × 364.5 cm)
without mounting: 60 1/4 × 139 3/8 in. (153 × 354 cm)

Credit Line

Collection of Peggy and Richard M. Danziger, LL.B. 1963

Loan number

ILE2017.16.9

Geography
Culture
Period

late Momoyama (1573–1615) or early Edo period (1615–1868)

Classification
Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Provenance

With Takashi Yanagi Oriental Fine Arts, Kyoto, Japan, by 1985; sold to Peggy D. Danziger (née Block) and Richard “Dick” M. Danziger, New York, and Purchase, New York, 1985 (on loan to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2017–24); given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2024

Bibliography
  • Terry Satsuki Milhaupt, "Draped in Silks: Whose Sleeves Adorn These Japanese Folding Screens?," in "Japanese Art at Yale," special issue, Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2007), 143–47, fig. 1–3
  • Art for Yale: Collecting for a New Century, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2007), 148–49, 377, pl. 137
Object copyright
Additional information

Object/Work type

folding screens

Signed

Circular seal at lower right reads "Inen"

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

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