A Mediuim-Sized Sakiori Mat: Rag Woven

early to mid twentieth century
51 3/4" x 42", 131.5 cm x 107 cm

This is nice-sized sakiori blanket, it was probably intended to be placed under or to cover a heated table called a kotatsu.

A kotatsu is a traditional form of heating where a brazier is placed inside a table-like structure. Heavy blanket-like cloths are layered on top as a way to trap heat. The family would gather around the kotatsu for warmth.

This particular textile shows a small burn hole or two, probably embers from the brazier, and these marks are illustrated in the detail photos here.

The cloth is woven from a cotton rag weft against a cotton warp, the weft yarns fed rather randomly against the warp, the result being a fairly structured-but-not-really horizontal striping effect.

The cloth is finished or edged in commercially produced cotton.

Aside from the small burn mark, some loosening of some of the weave here and there the cloth is in good, used condition--it is in the kind of condition you would expect from a textile with its history and age.

Really lovely.