A Cotton Ragweave Kotatsugake Panel: Sakiori

ca. mid twentieth century
64" x 14 1/2", 162.5 cm x 37 cm

This is a really gorgeous length of sakiori, a kind of weaving that uses shredded cloth for its weft yarn; sakiori is the Japanese word for rag woven textiles.

The regularly set warp yarns are white cotton.  The weft is cotton rag and the variegated colors of the weft seem randomly fed against the warp, creating a lovely progression of color up the length of the cloth, with black bars dominating the colored banding.

This wide, thickly woven and slubby cloth is beautiful in the hand and is also beautifully textured.

Note that the one short end is unraveling a bit although, if handled sensibly, it should be stable. The loose weft yarns reveal that the weft in the unraveled area is an indigo dyed kasuri cotton. Really lovely. There is one, small, coin-sized hole and some overall light fading and wear to the piece. 

Most likely this sakiori panel is taken from a kotatsugake or hearth cover. 

Beautiful and unusual.  And recommended.