Piece
Unknown Artist
18th–19th century
Medium
Silk
Dimensions
2 x 4 1/4 in. (5.08 x 10.80 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Woven
Culture
Japan
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1896
Accession Number
96.14.783
Art Historical Context
This delicate silk fragment, titled simply *Piece*, hails from Japan during the 18th–19th century, a time spanning the refined Edo period and the transformative early Meiji era. just 2 x 4¼ inches, it exemplifies the meticulous artistry of Japanese textile production, where silk weaving reached extraordinary heights of precision and beauty. Woven textiles like this were integral to daily life and ceremony, adorning kimonos, obi sashes, and decorative screens that reflected social status and aesthetic ideals. As a product of Japan's renowned silk industry—centered in regions like Nishijin in K...