A Small Overdyed Furoshiki: Resist Dyed Kanji

ca. early to mid twentieth century
30" x 29", 76 cm x 73.5 cm

A furoshiki is a multi-purpose, traditional Japanese utlitarian textile; usually it is used for wrapping items, for their storage, or for their transport.

This is a lovely and simple furoshiki that is hand stitched from one, wide panel of cotton which is overdyed, meaning: it was first dyed in indigo, then, to achieve the soft and rich green color we see in the accompanying photos, it was dyed in a yellow dyestuff.

The owner's name, represented by the kanji or Chinese characters located in the upper, left hand corner, were resist dyed using a stencil.  The two hems are hand stitched.

The overall condition is good, safe for a slight blurring of the dye at the 9 o'clock position on the cloth.

Really lovely.