A Length of Katazome Dyed Cotton: Trailing Wisteria Leaves

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
37" x 13 1/2", 94 cm x 34 cm

This length of deep indigo dyed katazome cotton shows a pattern that is at once playful and elegant.

It shows a very dark blue background on which are seen images of elaborately folded paper bearing stylized flower images set against a backdrop of long and fluttering wisteria leaves or branches. Small dabs of orange toned dye highlight this pattern.

The effect of this combination of images is visually delightful. No doubt it was taken from a futon cover, a likely source for this type of resist dyed cotton.