Art Institute of Chicago

Man's Informal Robe

Made in Coromandel Coast, India, probably for the Indonesian market

Date

Mid-18th century

Medium

Cotton, plain weave foundation; painted and resist-dyed

Culture

India

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This type of robe was called a banyan in 18th-century Europe, but the style was worn around the world. This garment could have belonged to a native of Sumatra, or a Dutch trader living in what is now modern-day Indonesia. Dutch settlers who came to the region with the Dutch East India Company (a global commercial and colonial enterprise founded in 1602 that established a major administrative hub on the island of Java soon after) often adopted regional clothing styles, such as this Indian painted cotton, which may have been manufactured for the Indonesian market.

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