Man’s Morning Gown (Banyan or Rock)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Tailored from Indian chintz, the painted pattern of pine trees and prunus blossoms on a red ground consciously imitates the type of pattern that would be found on a Japanese kimono. Unlike most garments tailored from chintz to European requirements, which are cut from lengths of repeat-patterned cottons, this fabric was painted onto cloth shaped expressly to be made into a banyan. The floral borders on the sleeves and front opening are integral to the fabric, not stitched on later. In the late seventeenth century the wearing of a man’s Oriental-style silk morning gown became de rigueur in Europe. The great demand for gowns spurred the commission of painted cotton versions, such as this example, from India’s Coromandel Coast.
Artwork Details
- Title: Man’s Morning Gown (Banyan or Rock)
- Date: early 18th century
- Culture: India (Coromandel Coast), for the Dutch market
- Medium: Cotton, (painted resist and mordant, dyed)
- Dimensions: center back length: 54.3 in (138 cm); width: 75.75 in (192 cm)
- Credit Line: Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing