Japanese Buddhist Textiles: The Baur Collection

The latest in a series documenting the world-renowned Asian art collections of Alfred Baur, this new volume presents a group of 18th- and 19th-century Japanese Buddhist textiles. Previously unpublished, the collection is made up not of kimonos or monks’ kesa robes, but of uchishiki, beautiful and intricate Buddhist altar covers. Like kesa, they were made from lengths of sumptuous silk, most often donated to the temple. With elaborate polychrome decoration, highlighted by gold or silver thread, uchishiki stand out as testaments to the extraordinary skill of Kyoto weavers. Superb photographs are accompanied by full scholarly notes on the history of silk weaving in Japan as well as the techniques and decorative motifs used.