A Beautiful Old 2 1/2 Panel 19th Century Boro Yogi Panel: Many Patches

late nineteenth century
56" x 31 1/2", 142.25 cm x 80 cm

This is an absolutely beautiful 2 1/2 panel boro piece that has wonderful age and shows a great many patches.  Additionally, this piece is visually intriguing when apprised from either side, which is not true with all boro textiles.

The base cloth is of a striped indigo and white cotton; the actual color of the cotton cloth probably is a much truer blue than what the photographs here portray.  

Because of the inclusion of the narrow central panel we can tell that this was once a yogi or a sleeping kimono.  Most likely the yogi was transformed into a futon cover over time, which is not at all unusual and which is often seen on old, boro bedding such as this.

Shown here is what would have been the proper inside of the yogi and it is very heavily patched and stitched.  The approximately 30 or so patches seem to date to the same time period (more or less) as the base cloth, which is the late 19th century.  Notice the two patches that are askew, a very nice detail.

This is a very, very nice boro futon cover fragment, rich in old cloth and history.

Recommended.