The kimono collection of Nasser Khalili

Nasser David Khalili is an Iranian-British collector and philanthropist. Born in 1945 to a Jewish family, he studied in the United States and specializes in Eastern and Western art. Its collection, founded in 1970, now includes more than 35,000 works that relate to Islamic, Japanese, Swedish, Spanish and other cultures. Khalili believes that the main problem of modernity is mass character: he is an adherent of the idea that an object is valuable if it contains history and exclusivity.

Already in the first years of forming his collection, he drew attention to the culture of Japan. He did not avoid kimonos, which he still gets. Each item Khalili bought personally, first approached one dealer, then expanded the circle of people who supplied him with interesting copies. The kimono collection covers a period of 300 years and includes 450 items. The collection shows a variety of designs that emphasize the status, gender, and age of the owner. The oldest copies were made during the Edo period (1603-1868).