A Length of Katazome Dyed Hand Spun Cotton: Fans Squared

early twentieth century
37" x 13 1/2", 94 cm x 34 cm

This is a length of indigo dyed katazome cotton that is hand woven from beautiful hand spun cotton yarns.

The pattern shown on the cloth is unusual: it shows a set of four folding fans arranged to form a square design. This square design is repeated up the length of the cloth. One of the fans shows the Japanese flag while the others bear the hiragana syllables ta, i and ko, perhaps a reference to Japanese drums.

The length is quite faded and the home spun yarns are very evident. There is one mending patch, a few very small, pinhead sized holes and several faint, grey-toned stains which are shown on the detail photos here.

The graphic appeal of this length along with the unusual type of pattern shown on it make it a curious and attractive length of old katazome in spite of its small damage.

Recommended.