The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 16, 2024
Buddhist Surplice (Kesa)
early 1900s
Location: not on view
Description
The kesa is a Buddhist monk’s vestment worn folded and draped over one shoulder, and fastened over the chest. In keeping with the austere conditions of monastic life, kesa were traditionally fashioned from remainders of donated garments sewn together into a series of columns. The wider, central column symbolizes the Buddha. The orange squares with a phoenix and flower pattern in each corner represent the deities who guard the four directions, while the two at the top on either side of the central column symbolize attendant bodhisattvas, or the Nio, guardians who protect the Buddhist Law. This kesa is sewn from a textile with bold roundels with dragon and phoenix motifs.- Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 237); January 12, 2015 -Arts of Japan from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Mansfield Art Center, Mansfield, OH (organizer) (March 25-April 22, 1979).
- {{cite web|title=Buddhist Surplice (Kesa)|url=false|author=|year=early 1900s|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1345