A Length of Beautifully Faded Katazome Cotton: Arabesque or Karakusa

early twentieth century
70 1/2" x 12 1/4", 179 cm x 31 cm

This is a length of nicely faded katazome dyed cotton whose arabesque design is referred to as karakusa in Japanese. The cotton was dyed in indigo which has now softened and oxidized and presents as a kind of blue/green tone.

Karakusa is a kind of endlessly repeating pattern that is a popular in Japan and, that said, there are countless variations on this design, some of them quite elaborate and some of them fairly straightforward as this one is.

This design shows a kind of segmented line that creates the trailing vine or arabesque pattern that we see here. The design was slightly misaligned when it was stenciled on both sides of the cloth so there are areas where the design is slightly blurred. That said, there are a few small, lentil-sized holes on the piece which do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the whole panel.

This is an attractive variation on the karakusa design and it is just delightful.