A Short Roll of Rustic Hand Plied Hemp Kaya: Blue Green

ca. early to mid twentieth century
244" x 12 1/4", 6.2 m x 31 cm

This is an ample length of very rustic, hand plied hemp kaya or mosquito netting whose color is an elusive blue-green: you could think of it as either a very warm blue or a very cool green.

It is referred to as a "length" because the two short ends of this long piece are finished by hand stitching.

The individual hemp yarns are wiry and tough; in some cases they are so rustic that dye was not able to penetrate yarn's woody surface, as can be seen in the accompanying detail photos.

The length of kaya is dotted with strange, irregularly shaped areas of dye loss; this aspect of the cloth is amply illustrated photos: here at Sri, we like this kind of natural aberration; it gives character.

This is a beautiful length of old cloth, with a fine, rich, scratchy texture.

Recommended.