ca. mid twentieth century
53" x 14 1/2", 134.5 cm x 37 cm
This is a really gorgeous length of sakiori, a kind of weaving that uses shredded cloth for its weft yarn; sakiori is rag weave.
The thick, warp yarns are bright white cotton. The weft is mainly a deep blue cotton; the combination of indigo weft and white warp creates, from a distance, a rich grey tone, which makes this softly variegated sakiori length Minimalist in appearance.
This wide, thickly woven and slubby clot ...click for details
ca. mid twentieth century
17" x 9" diameter, 43 cm x 23 cm diameter
This heavy drum is a roll of indigo dyed cotton kasuri warp yarns from Kurume in Kyushu, a place that produced very distinctive looking kasuri pattens and indigo dyed cloth.
The yarns, which are wound on the spool in between heavy paper, has never been unwrapped, so its length and the condition inside is unknown--however one is to assume that the condition inside is good, since this has not yet been woven, and s ...click for details
ca. early twentieth century
each leg: 31" x 16", 78.5 cm x 40.5 cm
Momohiki are a kind of tight-fitting leggings or trousers that were worn all over Japan by people in all lines of work, whether they be farmers or laborers, in the country or the city. Momohiki were usually worn under a hanten or noragai which is a work coat.
Like the pair shown here, momohiki are usually constructed of a complex pattern of many pieces of cloth, in this case indigo dyed cotton. As can be seen o ...click for details
ca. early to mid twentieth century
each: 3 7/8" x 14", 9.5 cm x 35.5 cm
This is a pair of sashiko stitched akutogake or heel guards. In old Japan people wore accessories to give protection to the body while working, traveling on foot, and the like. Hand guards, gaiters of shin guards, instep guards and heel guards were worn as added protection against abrasion.
These akutogake were placed around the heel of the foot and tied in front. They are hand stitched from white or undy ...click for details
ca. early to mid twentieth century
58" x 48", 147.5 cm x 122 cm
This is a really beautiful, large, piece constructed cotton boro textile--and it is attractive on both sides, each of which is different from the other.
The proper front is composed of large swaths of deep purple and indigo dyed cloth, arranged with not a great deal of attention to symmetry, which is really charming. There are some fabulous mended areas throughout the surface of this cloth, the mendings being long, ...click for details
ca. early to mid twentieth century
64" x 56", 162.5 cm x 142.25 cm
This is a dramatic and large tsutsugaki dyed furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping and carrying cloth.
The indigo is dyed in two tones, a rich, pale blue and deep, velvety navy blue. The centerpiece of this cloth is a hand drawn family crest or kamon, in this case mokko or so-called "melon" which is situated under a stylized roof form.
In the lower, right hand corner is a pair of complex, multi ...click for details
ca. early twentieth century
51" x 51", 129.5 cm x 129.5 cm
This is a really interesting, indigo dyed cotton sashiko furoshiki, or a tradtional wrapping cloth that has been hand stitched using white threads. Please know that unlike what the accompanying photos depict, the sashiko stitching is bright white, not as it appears in photos.
In all ways it appears to be a traditional Japanese sashiko stitched furoshiki: it is made of hand loomed cotton, it is indigo dyed, each of its c ...click for details
ca. mid twentieth century
47 1/2" x 46", 120.5 cm x 117 cm
This really beautiful cloth is composed of four panels of finely striped cotton that were once kimono: they were hand stitched together and the entire area was sashiko stitched using white, cotton thread, first in a grid pattern and then diagonals. Just fantastic.
This was likely one cover that would have been used on top of a kotatsu, a kind of heated table that was covered in blankets, the purpose of which was for the ...click for details
ca. mid twentieth century
8" x 7" x 7", 20 cm x 17.5 cm x 17.5 cm
This lovely drawstring bag is sewn from about 18 pieces of old, hand loomed Japanese cottons. What one notices first about this piece is the hand stitched name, Zensuke, on the front of the bag. The appeal is immediate--and graphic, and the katakana characters are rendered beautifully in white sashiko thread.
The bag is of a nice size and is in very good condition. The drawstring seems original to the bag, ...click for details
ca. early to mid twentieth century
34 1/2" x 30 1/2", 87.5 cm x 77.5 cm
This lovely, indigo dyed cotton boro mat is constructed of about four layers of cloth which give this square-shaped textile some body.
It is hand stitched from repurposed, indigo dyed cotton in varying hues and grades of blue, and the cloth is "divided" into twelve rectangle shaped zones, each being demarcated by long, white cotton sashiko stitches.
On one side is an interesting, elliptical re ...click for details
