A Length of Indigo Dyed Zanshi Ori: White Warp Stripes

late nineteenth century
58 1/4" x 12 1/2", 148 cm x 31.75 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 warp is regulated and the weft is fed with these random threads  producing an irregular horizontal 'striping'; if home threads are used, knotted slubs can often be seen.

This is a particularly good looking length of zanshi ori, notable for its indigo color tones and its fine design. There are three sets of three warp-based white stripes that break up the mostly blue background. The background, as is easy to see, is mottled by the random feeding of the left over weft yarns. This produces random areas of color and tone that is not regulated in any way by the weaver.

The texture of the hand woven cloth is beautiful and it is simply beautiful to look at and to admire. Please note one small hole as is illustrated on the photo that accompany this post.

Recommended as it is a very nice length of zanshi ori in the desirable indigo tone.