Piece

Art Historical Context

This delicate silk textile fragment, titled *Piece* and created by an unknown Japanese artist during the 18th–19th, hails from the Edo period (1615–8)—an era of relative peace and cultural flourishing under the Tokugawaogunate. Measuring just 8¼ x 4¾ inches (20.95 x 12.07 cm), it a small but precious survivor of Japan's renowned textile tradition, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Asian Art departmentWoven silk was a pinnacle of Edo craftsmanship, prized for its lustrous sheen, fine texture, and versatility in garments like kimonos. Artisans employed sophisticated looms to interlace ...