A Length of Narumi Kongata: Multi Stenciled Faux Shibori

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
28 1/2" x 12 1/2", 72.5 cm x 32 cm

Narumi kongata is a beautiful type of stencil resist cloth which utilizes a set of stencils that, when used in combination, yield a length of cloth that mimicked the look of shibori. Looking closely at Narumi kongata we see soft edges and shibori-like effects: these are the essential character of this complex type of stencil resist dyeing, and, as you can imagine, it requires a seasoned artisan of great skill and practice to dye this kind of cloth.

Here is a fairly short length of very good indigo dyed cotton Narumi kongata. It shows a repeat pattern of a broken trellis design which is set against a background that is meant to look like miura shibori, a kind of dappled tie dye technique. Small dots of white faux tie dye accent the design as does the inclusion of "tie dye" sparrows.

This is a beautiful length of old Narumi kongata cloth, and one with a rich and unusual pattern. There is one stain to the cloth as shown on the second photo which accompanies this post.

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