A Fragment of Safflower Dyed "Misshin" Shibori: Machine Shibori

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
19" x 13", 48.25 cm x 33 cm

This is a beautiful and relatively hard to find fragment of shibori cloth.  

It is a piece of machine stitched shibori technique, that is, using a sewing machine to resist areas of cloth from dye.

This technique of misshin or machine shibori was not widely practiced nor was it done for a long time so few pieces are available to be found. This is a quite nice one.

This fragment shows interlocking circles--a traditional motif borrowed from Chinese Buddhism--and it is dyed in safflower or benibana dye, now quite faded as can be seen.

There is a small, dark stain on the bottom of the fragment, pictured on the accompanying detail photograph.

For those who study shibori or natural dyeing this piece is a very good one for study. For those who admire Japanese textiles this one has a lot to offer and its relative rarity is a treat.