A Three Panel Resist Dyed Noren: Deep Brown Dye

early twentieth century
69" x 37 1/2", 175 cm x 95 cm

This is a three-panel, resist-dyed heavy cotton noren, a noren being a traditional curtain that acts as a shop sign or a kind of cover for an entrance way depending how the noren is used.  

Noren not only acted as shop signs--they are hung in the doorway of a business to announce the shop is open--but they also provided a barrier between the dust and chaos of the street and the inside of the shop or home. Additionally they provide some sort of psychological effect of delineating the transition between outside and inside.

There are two resist dyed characters--one a kanji or Chinese character and the other a mark suggesting mountains--and the undyed portion shows the natural color of the cotton cloth. 

The noren is hand stitched and on the bottom there are some small, faint clouds of discoloration, barely noticeable and almost undetectable, but do know of this condition. 

A handsome, still very usable traditional noren.