The Fascination with Japanese-Styled Gowns: A Quantitative Perspective on Ready-Made Garments at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century

Abstract

This essay explores the circulation of the japonse zijde rok, a popular ready-made garment that initially came to the Dutch Republic from Japan via the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and was much sought after by European elites. The study of these rare and expensive robes has been complicated by the fact that a variety of names are used to describe the same or similar garment types, some of which have different points of origin and may even be made from different materials, which the Dutch Textile Trade Project’s data and web applications has helped to clarify. This essay also shows how the Dutch Textile Trade Project’s open-access data can be used for quantitative research inquiries and to create independent data visualizations.