A Beautifully Arranged Boro Shikimono: Indigo Dyed Cotton Sleeping Mat

**reduced from $325.00**
late nineteenth, early twentieth century
63" x 37", 160 cm x 94 cm

This boro textile is made of two layers of recycled, hand loomed cotton which have been stitched together. It is a shikimono, a kind of sleeping mat or something to be placed under a futon. The vaguely human-body proportion of this piece speaks to its function.

The striped cotton pieces are hand stitched together and they are patched--by the quality of the narrow stripes and by the somber colors of the cloth we can tell that these fragments were taken from an every day kimono.

It was not unusual in old Japan to take apart clothing in order to make other types of functional cloth for the home, in this case, an under-futon.

This shikimono has been used hard as can be seen by its many patches and its overall abrasion, especially on the back of this cloth which is pictured in detail on the accompanying detail photos.

The arrangement of the indigo dyed cotton pieces is handsome and is beautiful in tonal contrast to each other.

A beautiful boro textile which evokes daily life in old Japan.

Recommended.