A Layered Shibori Mat: Fascinating Techniques and Combinations

ca. mid twentieth century
35" x 25", 89 cm x 63.5 cm

It is interesting to consider that the creator of this sitting mat fashioned it out of some very precious pieces of cotton cloth.

The face of the mat is made from a beautiful shibori cotton, one that it is beautifully murky in its sapphire tones and shows two, layered shibori techniques, one on top of the other, which produce an undulating, water surface effect.  Note the elongated oval repair to the center, right of the cloth, the patch being a white ground shibori cotton.

The back of this mate is a very generous area of Narumi kongata cotton cloth: Narumi kongata is a stencil resist technique that employs several layers of stenciling which produces a faux shibori.  The name Narumi kongata is a nod to the famous shibori making center in Aichi Prefecture, Narumi.  Narumi kongata was produced all over Japan and it is, without exception, always a tier in price above other types of less complicated stencil resist dyed cottons, and, truth be told, it is often very expensive.

This is a very unusual and very beautiful piece.  It is made of repurposed shibori and Narumi kongata textiles which show patina from wear and some patching and mending as can be seen on the accompanying detail photographs.

Highly recommended.