A Simply Beautiful, Old Length of Hand Woven Cotton: Large Scale Plaid

late nineteenth century
64" x 12 3/4", 162.5 cm x 32.5 cm

Plaids are some of the glories of Japanese folk textiles--and there are countless variations on this simple-yet-elegant design, from minuscule, low-contrast checks to this type which has a large scale and good tonal contrast.

It is said that plaids in Japan were developed by looking at the structure of architectural details and although this may or may not be entirely true the Japanese have developed some rich and beautiful plaid patterns--a quick thumbing through of ukiyo-e images will quickly reveal this to you.

This one shows colors that are difficult to capture in photography and, when seen in person, are clear, clean and ordered. It is a beautiful length of hand spun, hand woven old cotton.

It is a very good example of old Japanese hand woven cotton plaid cloth.