An Absolutely Glorious Length of Zanshi ori: Left Over Yarn Weaving

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
65 3/4" x 13", 167 cm x 33 cm

This gorgeous length of hand woven cloth is an exemplary panel of zanshi ori.

Zanshi ori is cloth that is woven from threads either leftover from home production of yarn making, or from broken threads that were purchased from local commercial weavers.  Usually the weft is fed with these random threads while generally the warp is regulated producing an irregular horizontal 'striping'; if home threads are used, knotted slubs can often be seen.

We see here plenty of these slubs in the weft yarns and we seen an overall wonderfully colored length, still vibrant and still dense in tone. There is hardly any wear or fading to the surface and this generous length of cloth offers a superb view onto very good zanshi ori weaving.

For those interested in re-purposed cloth or textiles this length is something to own, study or display.

Recommended. It is a very good example of zanshi ori.