A Length of 19th Century Stencil Dyed Cotton: Over Dyed Indigo and Bengara

mid to late nineteenth century
31" x 13", 79 cm x 33 cm

This is a really good example of a wonderful kind of stencil dyed cotton which shows an over dyed indigo base (indigo over dyed with a yellow dye to create green) onto which has been stenciled a pattern of red-colored pigment dye derived from iron oxide (bengara in Japanese).

The base cloth is wonderful because it is hand woven from hand spun cotton yarns. The green tone of the base is also beautiful because it is not a flat green color: the green color is enlivened because it was double dyed so there is some evidence of the blue and yellow coming together to make green.

The red overlaid pattern is in beautiful color contrast to the base, but just barely. The red is fairly the same tonal value as the green making for a very low-contrast design.

The pattern shown is comprised of hexagons or a tortoiseshell pattern, each hexagon showing either a stylized chrysanthemum or a peony inside.

A gorgeous example of this type of old stenciled cloth showing bengara dye.

Recommended.