The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 7, 2023

Buddhist Priest's Ceremonial Robe

袈裟

1400s

China, Ming dynasty

(1368–1644)

Silk and gold thread; embroidery

Overall: 119.4 x 302.1 cm (47 x 118 15/16 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1987.57

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

The Five Transcendent Buddhas, who symbolize the purity of the five elements, are repeated around the edges.

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.

Provenance
?–1987
(Spink & Son, Ltd., London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art.)
1987–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
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. Reproduced: cat. no. 64, pp. 210–212
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. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 84–85
Exhibition history

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 244). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 11, 2013-March 9, 2015).

The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).

Buddhist Ceremonial Robe Restoration. Textilerestauratiorin SKR (October 17-December 11, 1996).

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).

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).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.57