A 2 1/2 Panel Zanshi Ori Textile: Leftover Kasuri Yarns

$225.00 USD
early to mid twentieth century
42" x 32", 107 cm x 81 cm

Zanshi ori is cloth woven from threads that are either leftover from home production of yarn making, or from broken threads that were purchased from local commercial weavers. 

Usually it is the weft which is fed with these random threads and that is the case here: the weft yarns are left over kasuri or ikat yarns which accounts for the the completely random field of white and indigo patterning.

This super beautiful piece of indigo dyed cotton zanshi ori is hand stitched from two and a half loom widths of cloth and this textile was probably taken from a large piece, probably a futon cover.

There are four patches to the surface, three that contrast to the mottled base cloth and one that is made from the same length as the base cloth--this piece can be seen on the right hand panel in the middle.

As the yarns used to weave this cloth are left over kasuri yarns it is amazing to see  patterns appear and then break down into abstraction and visual nonsense. 

Wonderfully esoteric, this is a fascinating textile to look at--and it is equally interesting on both its sides.

Recommended.

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