A Hemp or Ramie Cloth Noren: Over Sized Crest

early twentieth century
35" x 37 1/2", 89 cm x 95 cm

This is a three-panel, resist-dyed noren, a noren being a traditional curtain that acts as a shop sign or a kind of cover for an entrance way depending how the noren is used.  

The cloth used to create this noren is hand plied hemp or ramie, the yarns being rustic or thick, thus the weave is also rustic and durable.

The noren is completely hand stitched and these very nice details are amply illustrated in the accompanying detail photos. 

Noren not only acted as shop signs--they are hung in the doorway of a business to announce the shop is open--but they also provided a barrier between the dust and chaos of the street and the inside of the shop or home. Additionally they provide some sort of psychological effect of delineating the transition between outside and inside.

The resist dyed family crest which dominates this noren is out of scale to the noren itself. This could have been intentional on the part of the dyer or it could be that the noren we see here has been scaled-down from a larger piece whereby flanking panels were removed and the noren was cut and reconfigured on its top and bottom.

As the detail photos attest the piece has been used and the piece is entirely hand made.

A wonderful thing.