A Hand Stitched Baby's Sleeping Mat: Very Good 19th Century Cotton

early twentieth century
39" x 23 1/2", 99 cm x 59.5 cm

This is a beautifully made small, layered, hand stitched mat which is the weight of a small rug--and it can be certainly used as such.

It was probably a baby's sleeping mat or shikimono or a zabuton which is a traditional seating cushion.

The mat is made of hand spun, hand woven cotton showing an indigo dyed panel and two types of plaid. The plaid design is based in the popular, 19th century pattern called sankuzushi, a kind of basket weave design.

The sankuzushi cloth of two types is just beautiful and by its pattern indicates that it was woven in the mid to late nineteenth century.

The mat is made of at least two layers, possibly three, and it has a nice weight to it. There is a slight, tiny tear to one of the sides, almost entirely unnoticeable, but otherwise the mat is in good condition.

A really lovely hand made, every day folk textile, still very usable in the home.