A Length of Dark Toned Katazome Cotton: Indigo Resist Dyed Bats

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
34 1/2" x 13", 87.5 cm x 33 cm

This is a length of beautifully hand woven cotton that is created from hand spun yarns. The cloth has a rustic, textural feel.

The images that comprise the pattern are hard to discern upon first glance--they are bats, rendered both as line and as a solid, undyed image.

The word "bat" in Japanese is akin to a word meaning "a lot of happiness" and thus it was viewed as an auspicious symbol of good luck.

The pattern is small in scale relative to the length of cloth and to heighten the clarity of the repeated image the cloth was stenciled on both its sides which required great skill on the part of the artisan dyer who made this cloth.

The indigo color is deep and rich and the length is in very good, used condition.

Recommended for its wonderful symbolism and its visual appeal.