A Length of Old Faded Katazome Cotton: Three Flowers in Repeat

late nineteenth century
22" x 13 1/2", 56 cm x 34 cm

This is a fragment of beautifully weathered, faded and used katazome cotton that shows a richly designed pattern of what could be called "fantasy flowers." The style of flowers seems invented and could very easily have been influenced by Indian trade cloth which was very much looked at and collected by the elite in Edo period Japan.

The pattern here is a repeat of three flower motifs which are joined together by a background of karakusa or trailing vine.

There are about five or more tiny holes to the surface of the cloth, one of the most prominent ones (none are very visible unless you inspect the cloth closely) is shown as isolated on a detail photo here.

This is a richly patterned length of old cloth and one that can captivate the attention for a good, long time.