Samurai vest (jimbaori)

late 18th century

This brilliant red vest, which would have been worn over a warrior’s armor, documents the movement of textiles across borders. The incorporation of wool, a foreign fabric imported from the West, signaled the status of the wearer, made all the more prominent by the large crest embroidered in gold on the back.

Wool cloth and silk cloth with silk brocade lining and embroidery (couching with gold thread), paper, and silver leaf

41 1/2 x 24 3/4 in. (105.41 x 62.87 cm)

Gift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection

89.156

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Beyond The Tanabata Bridge: A Textile Journey In Japan (Washington, D.C., Textile Museum, Sept. 10, 1993 - Feb. 27, 1994; Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham Museum of Art, Apr. 17 - June 26, 1994; Dallas, Texas, Dallas Museum of Art, Mar. 12 - May 28, 1995).

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Japan Envisions the West: 16th - 19th Century Japanese Art from the Kobe City Museum, Oct. 7, 2007 - Jan. 8, 2008.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Luminous: The Art of Asia, Oct. 13, 2011 - Jan. 8, 2012.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Gentleman Warrior: Art of the Samurai, Mar. 16 - Dec. 1, 2019.

Published ReferencesShirahara, Yukiko, Seattle Art Museum, "Japan Envisions the West: 16th - 19th Century Japanese Art from the Kobe City Museum", 2007

Rathbun, William Jay, Seattle Art Museum, "Beyond The Tanabata Bridge: Traditional Japanese Textiles", 1993 Seattle, Washington, pg. 149

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