A FINE CORAL AND SEED PEARL-EMBROIDERED IVORY SILK BUDDHIST MONK'S ROBE, JIASHA 19th/20th century Composed of one hundred and five bands of ivory-white silk neatly sewn together into twenty-one columns and framed by an outer border, with gilt-thread covering the seams, the sections finely embroidered in muted tones with a central Shakyamuni under a canopy, surrounded by Bodhisattvas and Buddhist and possibly Daoist deities floating on clouds, each row either terminating or starting with a Buddhist emblem panel, the border with a central Maitreya and Luohans and Buddhist figures among scrolling lotuses, the figures and canopy in the central column with details of their beaded jewellery finely picked out in coral and seed pearls, lined. 124cm (48 3/4in) x 266cm (104 3/4in) 注脚 The Property of a Lady Buddhist monks' robes, jiasha, deeply intertwined with the history of Buddhism in China, are an integral part of China's material culture. Traditionally worn draped over the left shoulder and fastened around the torso with a single hook, these robes were traditionally presented to monks in China on the occasion of their ordination. The textile was therefore a material manifestation of Buddhist teachings and ideology, starting from their design and construction: the segments were donated by members of the community and stitched together in a patchwork-like design. Unlike patchwork, however, their decoration was constructed according to a very specific arrangement, with a core centre and flowing symmetry reminiscent of mandala designs. The modest cut of the garment and its stitched-together appearance references the rugs worn by the Buddha in his ascetic period. A robe of almost identical design, from the John R. Van Derlip Fund, is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of art, no. 42.8.240.