A Length of Hand Spun Cotton Cloth: Beautiful Design of Anchors, Rope and Fishing Net

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
34" x 13", 86.5 cm x 33 cm

This is a truly wonderful and fairly rare image to be stencil resist dyed onto cloth, that of a repeat image of anchors, rope and fishing net.

The panel of hand spun, hand woven, indigo dyed cotton was no doubt taken from a futon cover which, most probably, was offered as part of the bridal trousseau.

The motif is one that is often used for wedding or marriage-related textiles as the anchor suggests the mooring of things, or, maybe more exactly, of safely securing the new bride in married life.

This type and style of image is often associated with the area of Izumo which produced distinctive resist dye cloth with bold, symbol-rich images. The anchor motif is a personal favorite here at Sri.

The pattern is wonderful, rare and visually enchanting.

What is interesting about this pattern, too, is the playfulness of the positioning of the anchors which, in reality are made of forged iron and weigh a great deal-- here they are shown as buoyant and carefree, a contrast to their reality.

This is a marvelously not-often-found motif.

Recommended.