A Length of Boldly Designed Katazome Cotton: Roundels and Chrysanthemums

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
48" x 13", 122 cm x 33 cm

This is a length of hand plied, hand woven cotton that has been dyed in the katazome technique.

The pattern is that of chrysanthemums and roundels. The roundels give the appearance of temari, the decorative thread balls given to children as presents. Some of the roundels contain images of butterflies while others hold images of chrysanthemums.

The pattern is white-on-blue and the indigo color is still dark but somewhat muted, and this is a factor in adding contrast to the overall scheme.

This design is unusual or not often seen in katazome and for this reason, as well as for its beauty, this is a desirable length of katazome dyed cotton.

Beautiful.