Kimono Collection from Nancy Martin Stetson Meets Shibayama Cabinet at Villa Monastero

Key facts

• Exhibition 'Giappone sul lago' runs until September 15, 2026, at Villa Monastero in Varenna, Italy.
• Curated by Anna Ranzi, in collaboration with Gruppo Mantero Seta.
• Features 24 kimono and 4 obi from the Nancy Martin Stetson Collection.
• Nancy Martin Stetson was an American collector and scholar who died in July 2021; her collection entered Mantero's archive in 2020.
• The exhibition highlights a Shibayama-style cabinet, reattributed to the early 20th century, with an urn shape.
• Kimono are displayed throughout the villa, including a bamboo-patterned one opposite a real bamboo grove.
• In the master bedroom, kimono are juxtaposed with early 20th-century European garments of Rosa Curioni de Marchi.
• Five red kimono with floral prints are displayed in the Sala Nera.
• Additional materials from the Museo della Seta di Como include silk labels and a 1913 book by Maurice Pillard-Verneuil.
• A 'show within a show' titled 'I costumi di Madama Butterfly' features costumes by ISGMD students and Sartoria Sociale APS, part of Opera Diffusa.
• The review criticizes the lack of detailed didactics and suggests displaying some kimono with backs visible.
• The Stetson collection includes over 750 kimono, dating from 1868 to 1945, as per Gianni Pezzani's catalog essay.