A Length of Greatly Varied Zanshi: Cotton and Silk

early to mid twentieth century
64" x 12", 162.5 cm x 30 cm

Zanshi ori is cloth that is woven from threads either leftover from home production of yarn making, or from broken threads that were purchased from local commercial weavers.  Usually the weft is fed with these random threads while the warp is regulated, producing an irregular horizontal 'striping'; if home threads are used, knotted slubs can often be seen.

This length of zanshi ori cloth is just wonderful for its variation of color, texture and material.  Clearly many types of thread were used to weave this length.  

First is the area of blue and white cotton which clearly shows that kasuri or ikat yarns were used, the others are the narrow shimmering lengths of grey/silver color where silk yarns were used.  The striped warp, too, is interesting for its variation of color and width.

This is a really fascinating length of zanshi ori and a wonderful example of the Japanese tradition of weaving with leftover yarns.

Recommended.