A Fabulous and Large Drawstring Bag: 19th Century Botanically Dyed Silks

ca. mid to late nineteenth century
9" x 15" x 15", 23 cm x 38 cm x 38 cm

This is a very large, piece-constructed drawstring bag hand stitched from about 18 individual pieces of 19th century, botanically dyed silks: notice the indigo blues, the benibana or safflower oranges and the shikon or gromwell root purple pieces.

The spirit of this bag is high: it is really lovely to look at and is beautifully hand stitched: all the loops on the drawstring top are intact and the cording is probably original to the bag: even though it is made of delicate silks, the bag is still very usable.

The bag is lined in a yellow, hand loomed cotton; some of the silk fragments show a bit of wear and loss.

This bag may have been a komebukuro or a bag that was used to present a token amount of rice or beans to a temple or shrine during a festival, however it is really quite large and may have been destined for another use.

Really, really lovely and recommended.