A Length of Intricately Patterned Katazome Cloth: Hemp Leaves and Diagonal Stripes

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
41 1/2" x 13", 105.5 cm x 33 cm

This is a length of beautifully hand woven, rather heavy weight, indigo cotton that has been dyed in the katazome method. The pattern is ingenious as it is a combination of the traditional hemp leaf motif or asa no ha with diagonally-oriented dark and light wide stripes.

The stencil used to resist dye this length is quite complex if you look carefully at the detail photos here. The asa no ha pattern is rendered in many narrow, horizontally-based slits which adds a kind of "faux woven" texture to the surface.

This is an intriguing and beautiful length of katazome dyed cotton, quite unusual for its original depiction of a traditional motif, and one that is in good, used condition, still deep with indigo tones.

Beautiful.