A Boro Length: Resist Dyed Recycled Hanten
ca. early twentieth century
70" x 14", 177.5 cm x 35.5 cm
This is really lovely long boro panel which is, eye-catching in its design, coloration and presentation.
This long, boro cloth is stitched from a deconstructed happi or a hanten, a resist dyed work or festival jacket which is always of a very easily identifiable design.
As was customary in old Japan, cloth was recycled and repurposed. In this case, a happi
was opened up and taken apart, and it was refashioned as a futon cover,
this being one panel from a larger piece. The vermilion passages are a
mineral based colorant that was applied to the cotton through a stencil
after it was resist dyed, the resisted areas showing white. This
length shows about 9 patches--and the dangling tab of cloth shown on the
proper left of this long boro piece is evidence that this panel was
indeed part of a futon cover as this tab would have been used to tie the
duvet closed.
