An Antique Dyer's Color Album: Iro Cho

1880s
when closed: 6 3/4" x 9 1/2", 17 cm x 24 cm

This is a dyer's or cloth merchant's sample book of swatches of chirimen or crepe silk, 48 swatches in all. The book dates to the Meiji era in the 1880s.

The small pieces are arranged over 12 pages and a few of the samples have eroded or have been abraded over time. The book is missing its back cover.

The book shows a sophisticated spectrum of colors.

A few are bright and saturated (probably using the newly-introduced German synthetic dyes) but many are muted tones that fall into the category of tinted neutrals: each very interesting in its tonal subtlety and ambiguity.

As can be seen there is some damage to the book which is not unusual for its age. It is a marvelous artwork in its own right and its selection of odd, soft colors is intriguing and inspiring.

Fantastic.