A JAPANESE FIREMAN'S COAT

A JAPANESE FIREMAN'S COAT, HIKESHI BANTEN

EDO PERIOD OR LATER, 19TH CENTURY

The reversible garment made of quilted cotton cloth, sashiko, one side a deep indigo colour, the other side with freehand paste-resist decoration, tsutsugaki, depicting a man standing on a balcony, gazing pensively into distance, together with a folding fireman's hat, also of quilted cotton cloth and decorated with flowering sprays of peonies, the exterior a deep blue ground, 125cm and 75cm max respectively.