Piece

Art Historical Context

This delicate silk textile fragment, titled simply *Piece*, hails from Japan's Edo period (16151868), a time of relative peace and cultural flourishing under the Tokugawa shogunate. Woven in the 18th or 19th century, measures a modest 15½ × 10¾ inches and features motifs of birds, a common emblem in Japanese art symbolizing freedom, seasonality, and harmony with nature. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian collection, it exemplifies the exquisite craftsmanship of Edo-era textiles, often produced for garments like kimonos or decorative screens. Silk weaving was a pinnacle of techn...