id:			375948
accession number:	2020.66
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2020.66
updated:		2023-05-25 11:12:06.502000

Jacket with Octopus, c. 1800–1868. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868). Silk crepe (chirimen); overall: 81.9 x 129.5 cm (32 1/4 x 51 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, L. E. Holden Fund 2020.66

title:				Jacket with Octopus
title in original language:	蛸文様羽織
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1800–1868
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1868
current location:		
creditline:			L. E. Holden Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
technique:	Silk crepe (chirimen)
department:	Japanese Art
collection:	Japanese Art
type:		Textile
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 81.9 x 129.5 cm (32 1/4 x 51 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Elizabeth Wilson sold to Julia Meech)
	date: ?–c. 2000
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Julia Meech, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: c. 2000–2020
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2020–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
Crepe results from the weft thread being kept tighter than the warp thread during weaving.

digital description:


wall description:
With its many long arms, the octopus lends itself to a tantalizing design, with the front of this garment displaying tentacles and the back revealing the face. An octopus motif sometimes appears on costumes for the role of the Catfish Priest, a sidekick of the main villain in the Kabuki play <em>Shibaraku</em> (Stop a Moment!). It is also seen in genre painting during the 1600s as a logo on the uniforms of transportation staff, perhaps indicating just how much they can carry. This jacket may have recycled the idea as a fashion statement.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Yamanaka, Norio. <em>The Book of Kimono</em>. 2012.
	page number: 	p. 58
	url:		

	Lynch, Annette, and Mitchell D. Strauss. <em>Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia</em>. 2015.
	page number: 	p. 136
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2020.66/2020.66_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2020.66/2020.66_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2020.66/2020.66_full.tif