A Tsutsugaki Dyed Length: Young Pines in Over Dyed Indigo
early twentieth century
14 3/4" x 87 1/2", 37.5 cm x 222 cm
This is a very long, over dyed indigo cotton cloth which shows tsutsugaki dyed young pines and a family crest.
The length was taken from a yutan, a cloth covering for a piece of furniture, usually a chest. The cloth itself is used hard and shows an overall patina from wear, some nicks to the cloth, a few holes, some ingrained dirt and some mottling of the dye. Since a yellow dye was applied over blue to achieve the green color we see here, some unevenness in the dye has occurred over time.
The young pine motif is a lovely one and it is repeated along the bottom border of the long cloth. The family crest--ivy surrounded by feathers--shows hand painted details.
A lovely length of hand dyed cloth from old Japan.