The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Woman’s Robe (munisak)

Woman’s Robe (munisak)

1850–75
Overall: 132.1 x 150 cm (52 x 59 1/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

Dazzling ikat velvet robes, the most sumptuous, expensive, and prestigious type of ikat, were worn throughout Central Asia by men and women. This resplendent robe with a V-shaped neckline, fitted torso, and slightly flaring skirt features stylized blossoming plants, pomegranates, and auspicious curved ram’s horns, all with irregular contours of the resist-dye ikat technique. Such female robes were culturally significant in Central Asia. Made for wedding dowries with fabric from the groom’s family, women wore munisaks for rites of passage throughout their lives, as a bride, at family festivals, and funerals.
  • ?-2009
    Arlene C. Cooper [1939-2019], New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2009-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Gervers, V. “Construction of Türkmen Coats.” Textile History 14, no. 1 (1983): p. 3-27 doi.org
    Thompson, Jon, and Thomas J. Farnham. Timbuktu to Tibet: Exotic Rugs & Textiles from New York Collectors. New York, NY: Hajji Baba Club, 2008. Mentioned and Reproduced: pl. 3, pp. 60-61
    Mackie, Louise. "Embroidered Surcoat." Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine, 54 no. 1 (January/February 2014): 27. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 27 archive.org
    Highet, Juliet. "Silks from Islamic Lands." The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries 17, issue 5 (March 2014):16-18. Reproduced: p. 18
    Mackie, Louise W. Symbols of Power: Luxury Textiles from Islamic Lands, 7th-21st Century. Cleveland, OH; New Haven, CT: The Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2015. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 9.60, p. 400
  • Luxuriance: Silks from Islamic Lands, 1250-1900. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 14, 2013-June 23, 2014).
    Woven Splendor from Timbuktu to Tibet, Exotic Rubs and Textiles from New York Collectors. New-York Historical Society, New York, NY (April 11-August 11, 2008); The Textile Museum, Washington, DC (Fall 2008).
  • {{cite web|title=Woman’s Robe (munisak)|url=false|author=|year=1850–75|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2009.267