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About
In the 1920s and 30s skeletons and skulls were a fashionable design choice to adorn the robes worn under kimonos, as well as for the linings of jackets (haori). Most of these garments were worn by men who would show them off in private settings. Skeleton and skull motifs had been prevalent in Japanese art, particularly Buddhist art, for centuries, but in the Taisho and early Showa periods they were also part of a modern trend in experimental designs on clothing which also included propaganda depictions of warplanes, battleships and submarines.
Details
Date
1920s-1930s
Materials used
silk; resist dyeing
Dimensions
120.0 x 160.0 cm
Credit
Asian Collection Benefactors 2019
Location
Not on display
Accession number
145.2019

Place
Where the work was made
Japan
Shown in 2 exhibitions
Exhibition history
Supernatural, Galerie Mingei Japanese arts, Paris, 11 Sep 2018–29 Sep 2018
Japan Supernatural, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 02 Nov 2019–08 Mar 2020
Referenced in 1 publication
Bibliography
Philippe Boudin and Zoe Niang (Directors), Supernatural, Paris, 18 (colour illus.).