Unknown Maker, Japanese

No robes from the Lucy Truman Aldrich Collection at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. A beautiful and informative publication on the RISD Museum's collection of costumes for the Japanese No theater. This collection, arguably the finest in the United States, was assembled largely on the spot in Japan during the 1920's by Rhode Islander Lucy Truman Aldrich, sister-in-law of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The 47 robes came to the Museum by gift and bequest from Miss Aldrich herself and represent all categories of No costume. Four essays document the history of the collection, including Miss Aldrich's encounter with Chinese bandits; poetic allusion in the imagery of the robes; the traditional methods of making No robes; and the evolution of No costume over 650 years. Individual entries with color illustrations discuss each of the 47 objects.

Susan Anderson Hay, Curator of Costumes and Textiles, RISD Museum of Art Monica Bethe, Independent Scholar, Japan Helen M. Nagata, former Curator of Asian Art, RISD Museum of Art Iwao Nagasaki, Curator and Scholar at the National Museum, Tokyo, Japan