ca. mid twentieth century
book: 9 1/2" x 6 1/2", 24 cm x 16.5 cm
box: 3 1/2" x 9" x 12", 9 cm x 23 cm x 30.5 cm
This is a collection of seven items, all contained within a lacquer box--used by a devout Buddhist as he attempted a pilgrimage visiting a prescribed route of temples; most likely this pilgrimage route was in service of visiting holy temples that related to esoteric Buddhism in Japan's western area on Honshu Island.
The box contains two juzu, or Bud ...click for details
ca. early to mid twentieth century
52 1/2" x 13 1/2", 133 cm x 34 cm
What a beautifully tactile piece of hand loomed cloth. Zanshi is the name of a kind of cloth woven from leftover yarns and it is one of our favorite Japanese folk textiles. In this case, this zanshi cloth is woven from a combination of cotton with hand spun silk yarns, the homespun silk is what gives the cloth a stiff, papery feel.
With the exception of the bright red accents in the cloth, the rest of the y ...click for details
ca. early to mid twentieth century
31" x 36", 79 cm x 91.5 cm
This is a beautiful, indigo dyed han juban, or half under-kimono. Because this particular han juban is constructed with a half lining with a repeat print in contrast to that of the base fabric, we are showing the proper inside of the garment for its visual interest.
The pattern on this piece is applied through a laborious, artistic process called katazome. An artisan cuts a stencil which will serve as the template f ...click for details
ca. mid twentieth century
9 yards x 6", 8.25 meters x 15.25 cm
The word to describe the ultra-lightweight, beautifully gauzy cotton from which this turban is made would be 'diaphanous.' It is extremely sheer, hand woven cotton of wonderful grade and quality, the Indians being known for the excellent quality of their woven cottons, especially the delicate, lightweight, 'mousseline' weaves.
Bold, electric pink dye accompanies more subtle tones of pale greys and mustar ...click for details
ca. mid twentieth century
74" x 56", 188 cm x 142 cm
The kantha stitched textiles from West Bengal and Bihar, India and Bangladesh are a famous and widely recognized folk textile art and one of India's most prized and sought-after textile traditions. We are exceedingdly pleased to offer this large, excellently stitched and stunningly designed kantha.
Kantha stitching has its roots in ingenuity and the culture of women: used white dhotis (men's sarongs) and women's s ...click for details
ca. mid twentieth century
44" x 50", 112 cm x 127 cm
This is an undyed, hemp or asa boro kimono, which shows a profusion of patches and stitching on its interior, shown in the many detail photos that accompany this posting. Pay special attention to the wide blocks of sashiko stitching done in even, tight rows, also shown.
What is difficult to see in these photos are the stacked and layered patches.
Boro asa (hemp) kimonos are very collectible and desirable, and this one has ...click for details
ca. mid twentieth century
65" x 60", 165 cm x 152.5 cm
This wonderfully pieced and expertly finished indigo dyed cotton boro "throw" is actually a kotatsugake or a cloth used under a kotatsugake, which is a kind of blanket used to cover a brazier which provided warmth in the old style Japanese home.
This throw is very neatly done with a beautiful arrangement of cloth pieces. It is pieced and hand sewn; the edges are finished using a sewing machine. The indigo tones h ...click for details
ca. early to mid twentieth century
62" x 37", 157.5 cm x 94 cm
What a wild, wonderful thing. This is an intact, boro futon cover that is as interesting on the outside as it is when turned fully inside-out, which is not often the case with boro textiles where one side can appear to be much more interesting than the other.
Note the random combination of cloth used to create this piece. The outside shows commercially produced fabrics sewn next to hand woven ones: the large, faded ...click for details
ca. early twentieth century
47" x 48", 119 cm x 122 cm
This nagagi, or long work coat, most certainly comes from the Akita region of Japan; the indigo dyed cotton shibori panels on the lower half of the back of the garment are very characteristically 'Akita shibori.'
The coat itself is made of figured cotton, mainly crudely produced, stencil resist dyed patterns that can be seen on top and bottom halves of the front of the coat: the pattern on the coat's bodice is a ...click for details
ca. late nineteenth, early twentieth century
43 1/2" x 13", 110.5 cm x 33 cm
This wonderfully graphic cloth shows an unusual combination of motives, that of the spiderweb and the dragonfly.
First, however, notice the wonderful homespun threads used to weave this cotton: the dye--which is applied sort of crudely or rustically--seeps into these homespun threads in a beautifully uneven way. The color of the dye, too, is lovely: it is an unusual light-to-middle tone blue, or asagi ...click for details
