Complete with essays on the East Asian art collection at the MCH Foundation, the collector Magdalene C. Hammonds, and the development of East Asian textiles, this inventory catalog traces the development of complex silk fabrics in China and Japan. Splendid costumes of the Nô theatre, robes and obi belts of elegant ladies, and Buddhist priests’ opulent garments provide fascinating insights into the technical sophistication and abundance of Chinese and Japanese patterns displayed in the collection.

Edited by MCH Foundation, Hammonds Collection. Alan Kennedy is a specialist in historic Asian costume and textiles, and the author of many publications. Clarissa Gräfin von Spee is an art historian and curator at the British Museum, London. Walter Bruno Brix is an expert on East Asian textiles and author of inventory catalogues of private and public collections.