Orange Chrysanthemum Tomesode

• Heavy Item description:

  • Heavy black silk, with a white silk lining, and show no signs of wear. The hem is clean.

  • Design combines silk floss embroidery and gold wrapped thread.

  • 24 karat gold accents are found in the form of gold wrapped stitching, tracing the contours of the flower, and in the background.

  • The fabric itself is strong and in good condition. There are no pulls or rips, and the gold foil and gold threads are in excellent condition. The tomesode looks new and unworn, with no signs of age.

  • 5 mon kurotomesode

  Decoration and Motif Notes

  The Japanese artisan who created this kurotomesode used embroidery to create opulent effects on this kimono . With silk floss and variations on the "long and short stitch" or satin stitch, hira-nui, they have built up entire three-dimensional chrysanthemum motifs, as in the flowers below. The embroidered chrysanthemum motifs in this kurotomesode are in cream and orange with a subtle tan accent under the petals. The expertly embroidered blooming and budding chrysanthemums sweep across the three panels of the kurotomesode.

  Gold threads are made of foil applied to thin membrane or paper strips which are wrapped around silk threads. These metallic threads cannot be stitched through the silk fabrics, so they are traditionally "couched": laid on the fabric surface and stitched down with fine silk threads. The technique is called shusu.  The chrysanthemum motif has gold couching in the center of the embriodered design of the open flower. The gold couched threads are coiled in the center of the bloom, adding a golden radiance that is echoed by the application of gold couched threads along the edges of the petals of the opened chrysanthemum.