A Length of Indian Inspired Katazome Cotton: Interesting Vertical Lines

early twentieth century
54" x 13", 137 cm x 33 cm

The beauty of this length of complex patterned, indigo dyed katazome cotton rests not just in its intricate, Indian-inspired pattern but also for the hand spun cotton yarns that were used to weave this length of old cloth.

The pattern itself is a repeat of a kind of sparely designed, stylized chrysanthemums which is a visual nod to the kind of flowers you might find on Indian or Persian cloth, but re-imagined in a Japanese sort of way.

The indigo dye is faded and a bit greyed from oxidation, and on the top half of the piece there are interesting, vertical lines that seem intentional but most probably are not.

The pattern is exotic and playful and it references the Japanese interest in foreign cloth and the Japanese esteem for the export cloth of India.

Beautiful.