A Small Piece of Beautiful Katazome Dyed Cotton: Vivid Flowers

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
17 3/4" x 13 1/2", 45 cm x 34.25 cm

This is a beautiful, small piece of old katazome dyed cotton that shows fantasy flowers amid a field of linear arabesques. 

The flowers are an invented type and are tinted with an iron oxide derived dye called bengara--often katazome dyed cottons show details colored in this fashion and with this pigment dye.

The fragment is slightly worn and used but the general color and spirit of the piece are still rich and vibrant.

This is a very nice example of katazome dyeing with a fanciful pattern.