id: 153759 accession number: 1987.57 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.57 updated: 2023-05-31 11:29:58.084000 Buddhist Priest's Ceremonial Robe, 1400s. China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Silk and gold thread; embroidery; overall: 119.4 x 302.1 cm (47 x 118 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1987.57 title: Buddhist Priest's Ceremonial Robe title in original language: 袈裟 series: series in original language: creation date: 1400s creation date earliest: 1400 creation date latest: 1499 current location: creditline: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund copyright: --- culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) technique: silk and gold thread; embroidery department: Textiles collection: Textiles type: Garment find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 119.4 x 302.1 cm (47 x 118 15/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The Year in Review for 1987 opening date: 1988-02-24T05:00:00 The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988). title: Buddhist Ceremonial Robe Restoration opening date: 1996-10-17T00:00:00 Buddhist Ceremonial Robe Restoration. Textilerestauratiorin SKR (October 17-December 11, 1996). title: When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art opening date: 1997-10-19T00:00:00 When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 26, 1997-January 4, 1998); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998). title: Taming Tigers and Releasing Dragons: Masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist Art – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c opening date: 2019-02-08T05:00:00 Taming Tigers and Releasing Dragons: Masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist Art – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 8-August 11, 2019). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 244). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 11, 2013-March 9, 2015). --- PROVENANCE (Spink & Son, Ltd., London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art.) date: ?–1987 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1987– footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: The Five Transcendent Buddhas, who symbolize the purity of the five elements, are repeated around the edges. digital description: wall description: This example of imperial embroidery is one of the earliest surviving Chinese Buddhist robes (kasaya) in the West. Depicting 991 Buddhas, each slightly different, it is constructed out of patches in reference to the legend in which the Buddha's favorite disciple divided a robe he was given into 30 pieces. Patchwork is also a sign of humility. Multiple Buddha images known as “thousand Buddha” designs are seen painted and sculpted on the walls of cave temples in India, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and China, but are rare on garments. The Four Heavenly Kings, guardians of the four directions, occupy the textile’s corners. When draped around the body, the inverted figures in the upper left corner appear right side up. Robes with 25 columns were worn by the highest-ranking clergy on ceremonial occasions. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art: Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 1997. page number: Reproduced: cat. no. 64, pp. 210–212 url: Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 84–85 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.57/1987.57_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.57/1987.57_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1987.57/1987.57_full.tif