A Very Large Section from a Yutan or Furniture Cover: Hand Spun Cotton

late nineteenth century
88" x 37 1/2", 223.5 cm x 95 cm

This large, beautifully colored and designed textile is a partial yutan which is a cloth that was used for covering furniture.

This is made of extremely good old cotton: it is hand spun and hand woven. Its toothy texture and good weight demonstrate what the Japanese fondly refer to as ito aji or thread flavor: this is a desirable aspect of country cloth.

The cloth shows four resist dyed large mon or family crests in two designs. The crest rendered as a roundel is a highly stylized plum blossom and the other is a paulownia flower, both often-seen images in Japanese art and design.

The beautiful, rich green color is botanically dyed: first the cloth was dyed in indigo and then it was dyed in a yellow color to achieve this distinctive green tone. When cotton is over dyed as this one is you can see evidence of the two-process dyeing in the yarns of the woven cloth. Just beautiful.

As can be seen in the accompanying detail photos there are repairs, areas of loss, some fading and some scuffing to the surface, all in line with a utilitarian cloth of good age as this one is.

Beautiful!