A Length of Beautifully Aged Shinafu: Woven Linden Yarn

early twentieth century
43" x 12", 160 cm x 30.5 cm

This is a length of shinafu, which is a traditional Japanese bast fiber-based cloth that is woven from yarns processed from the inner bark of the linden tree.

Shinafu usually shows a copperish or reddish tone, its yarns are wiry and scratchy, therefore shinafu was often used for utilitarian textiles because of the strength and durability of its fibers.

By looking at the attached detail photos you will see the twisting together of yarns and this shows the yarns were hand plied: this is most evident on the warp yarns.

This length is finished on both its short ends which was clearly useful at the time it was made, but as that time was so long ago, its intended purpose can only be guessed at.

The color of this length is deep and was burnished by time and by exposure, so the patina is rich. The naturally aged color is just beautiful to look at.

This is a marvelous opportunity to own a handsome piece of collectible shinafu which shows great thread integrity and is of a generous length. In good, used condition.

Recommended.