267 | Mossblossom
FILED UNDER: THE HANGING GARDENS
Found growing, more or less, among the railings of an upper terrace. Whether planted there or simply left to root, no one in the Gardens can say for certain.
SHELL
Heavyweight vintage silk obi featuring a landscape of bamboo and chrysanthemums in sage, smoke, and tarnished gold. Era: provisionally dated to the 1940s–1950s.
LINING
Crisp, undyed cotton.
STRUCTURE
9-panel construction reinforced with synthetic whalebone. Architectural silhouette with elongated torso and cinched waist.
DETAILING
Black ribbon at the shoulders and back. Umber beadwork along the neckline.
LACING
Black ribbons threaded through reinforced brass grommets.
SIZE
S [size guide]
EDITION
One of one.
FROM THE CITY ARCHIVES
The Hanging Gardens
The Hanging Gardens occupy the upper levels of the City, where terraces, bridges, balconies, and narrow walkways connect a collection of cultivated and uncultivated spaces. Some plots are maintained regularly. Others have been left to develop without intervention.
Mossblossom was found among the railings of one of the upper terraces. At the time of recovery, the specimen was positioned as though it had grown there rather than been placed there. No planting record, ownership record, or other documentation establishing how it arrived has been located.
The name Mossblossom is said to have come into use after the recovery. The muted green of the silk was difficult to distinguish from the moss growing along the railings, while the floral motifs appeared among it like small blossoms. The gardeners began calling the specimen Mossblossom. The name remained.
No further record of the specimen's history before its recovery has been located.
