Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Chinoiserie Costumes as Art


Continuing with our series on Chinoiserie walls, today we look at Chinoiserie costumes as art. From Japanese silk kimonos, to Chinese opera costumes, to Chinese dragon robes, one of these hung on a wall would make a stunning focal point for any room. It can be framed under glass or hung from a decorative hanger or wooden rod that can be purchased just for this purpose. Silk fragments of these costumes are also wonderful framed. Antique examples can be found on eBay, flea markets, and antique stores.












20 comments:

  1. great post. Beautiful images. If you are ever in Hong Kong you should visit Teresa Coleman or Hanlin . Both are top notch Asian antique ealers with gorgeous textiles and chinoiserie ephemera.

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  2. Must finally send my rave review of your blog which I have read since the beginning. As a dinosaur-age antiques/design lover, you validate my lifelong love of chinoiserie, making me almost feel up-to-date. I have many of the things you mention - and some you will get around to, I am sure.
    Seeing your Chinese robes, which I have on several walls and have worn to galas over the years, has spurred to cease lurking and give you a huge "bravo". (One of your pictures shows a Spanish bullfighters "suit of lights" which I passed along to my daughter and now think I may be asking for its return. Keep up the good work. I also appreciate your daily entries - it's my first stop every morning. Cheers,
    Nanee

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  3. Gorgeous, I love the gold and yellow, gold and deep red! They are works of art!
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  4. These costumes are art. Particularly love this option when you're trying to fill a very large wall.

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  5. Love, love, love this idea! I have several kimonos, one of which my Granddad brought back from Okinawa after he ran a field hospital during WW2. I have been meaning to put it under glass so I could do this. You just lit a fire under my paws to get it done! Love, Kitty

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  6. Absolutely stunning examples - especially since most of these pieces will never be worn again. The Freer and Sackler galleries provide wonderful examples of framed kimonos. It takes a talented professional to do the job right, but it's certainly worth it!

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  7. I had a collection of Tibetan jackets hung along a wall. They were stretched out on copper tubes, so sort of a rough luxe look. The fabric place where I go has a ton of chinese/indian/pakistani clothes. maybe i will look for a kimono or robe to hang.

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  8. Domestic Goddess-They sound wonderful.

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  9. Nanee-Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Wonderful to hear from you.

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  10. Averill-Especially with high ceilings.

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  11. Kitty-Lucky you-you should definitely do that.

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  12. SF-The Freer and the Sackler are great sources of inspiration for me.

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  13. I always have an embroidered Chinese kimono and embroidered slippers in my wardrobe. Nothing worth framing, though. I believe your second photo is a Spanish matadors 'suit of lights'. I almost bought a child size one in Spain. Quite expensive, of course. The work is fabulous.

    Catherine

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  14. Catherine-It is a matador suit but I snuck it in it is such a great example.

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  15. I did this very thing years ago for a client. It resembled the third image. It was stunning in the room an amazing focal point.

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  16. I did a modest version of this: found 2 beautiful embroidered silk Chinese opera-puppet robes on Ebay and framed them. The Emporer dragon-robe hangs on my husband's closet door, and the Empress phoenix-robe is on mine. Terrific blog!

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  17. Pink Damsel-What a great idea. Thanks for stopping by.

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