A Length of Beautifully Patterned Sakai Sarasa: Indian Inspired Cotton Cloth

mid nineteenth century
32 3/4" x 13 7/8", 83 cm x 35 cm

This is an especially appealing length of stencil dyed, hand spun, hand woven cotton cloth that is meant to evoke the feeling of Indian trade cloth or sarasa.

In the Edo period, sarasa was collected by connoisseurs of beauty in Japan who were people of great means and high social position. The fact that sarasa was imported and exotic was a lure for attraction--and add to that the mastery of hand drawn design, color and dye achieved by Indian textile artisans drew interested from Japan's elite.

Sakai sarasa, of which this is an example, is named for the Sakai area of Osaka where this type of cloth was produced.

Sakai sarasa was a kind of luxury fabric in its day and even in the present era it is considered as such in Japan. 

This length shows a complex pattern of stylized flowers, robustly rendered in tones of grey and blue and set against a background of faded, dull orange tone. There is overall, subtle lightening to the field of pattern--the result of wear and age, and not at all surprising for a length of cloth about 150 years old.

Very recommended for its rarity and its cultural value.