A Length of Stencil Resist Dyed Cotton: Unmade Noren

ca. early twentieth century
58" x 13", 147.25 cm x 33 cm

This length of indigo dyed cotton is part of an as-yet-unmade noren or traditional doorway curtain.  What you see here is one panel from the noren; the white-on-blue image on the noren was probably meant to be some kind of stylized family crest or a stylized trade mark; on this panel we see just one sliver of the entire design.

The cotton is like a sailcloth or canvas; the indigo dye is so dense it is almost black in color.

As this image was resisted using rice paste that was guided by the use of a hand cut stencil, if you look closely at the edges where the white and blue meet, you will see some bleeding of the indigo into the white areas of undyed cotton.

This piece was featured on our blog, shown here.

A personal favorite here, the bold, geometric design is curious and beautiful.