A Length of Indigo Dyed Katazome Cotton: Interlocking Geometry

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
60" x 13 1/4", 152.5 cm x 33.5 cm

This is a rustic length of indigo dyed katazome cotton.

It is characterized as rustic because the dyeing is imperfect: we can see some bleeding of the indigo dye onto the white or resisted areas of the design as well as smudging of the rice paste which was used to resist the indigo dye. The bold pattern is technically flawed.

However the bold pattern is wonderful to look at. It is large in scale and shows interlocking hexagons which are symbols of long life since they suggest tortoiseshell and hence, the tortoise. Inside each hexagon is a large and stylized chrysanthemum; similarly chrysanthemums appear at the juncture of each of the angles of the hexagons.

The indigo tone is deep and rich and although not a masterpiece of technique this is a very good looking length of old katazome cloth that shows a very handsome design.

Just lovely.