A Length of Old Zanshi ori Cotton: Threadbare Leftover Yarn

early twentieth century
53" x 13", 134.5 cm x 33 cm

This is a beautifully woven length of indigo dyed zanshi ori with good age and fantastic, "classic" zanshi ori patterning.

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 weft is fed with these random threads while generally the warp is regulated producing an irregular horizontal 'striping'; if home threads are used, knotted slubs can often be seen.

On this length we can see a beautifully colored, mainly indigo toned, irregularly spaced weft design which is the result of broken yarns being used to weave this panel.

The length is heavily worn: it is faded and there is a nice patina to the surface: some areas are threadbare and there is some loss as can be seen on the accompanying detail photos.

A very good piece of a beautiful country textile.

Recommended. This is a very handsome length of zanshi ori.