A Large Swath of Beautifully Hand Spun Cotton Cloth: Dated 1868

1868
56" x 62", 142 cm x 157.5 cm

This is a magnificently generous swath of beautiful hand spun, hand woven cotton from the Keio era within Japan's Edo period a date that is equivalent to Western calendars as 1868, the last year of the Edo period.

That there should be such a large area of cotton whose purpose was directly applied to a specific function--in this case it seems this was the backing of a cloth used in a Buddhist temple--is significant. This means there was some kind of luxury attached to it since at this time in Japanese history pristine cotton was not widely proliferated among the general population. 

There is a hand written inscription on the cloth that gives its date and there is a reference to new year. Often, wealthy devotees of a particular temple would donate their fine silk kimono or garments to be used in the service of making either a priest's robe or kesa, or an altar cloth called an uchishiki. If not backed in hemp or ramie cloth these liturgical cloths would be backed in either silk or cotton.

Of course this cloth of almost 160 years of age shows some evidence of wear in the small stains that dot it. But it is its fine age, its wonderfully rich texture and its elevated status in the past that makes this desirable.

Recommended.