ca. late nineteenth century
24" x 10 1/2", 61 cm x 26.5 cm

This fragment of gauzy cotton is extremely elegant and beautiful: the asagi or pale blue indigo color is really lovely, as is the interesting construction of the cotton cloth.

The gauzy effect of the cloth is due to its lax weave, but this delicacy is further enhanced by the missing warp and weft yarns: these missing yarns create the "windowpane" check pattern which is woven into the cloth.

The carp which comprise the repeat pattern in this design are applied using pigment which is painted onto the cloth through a stencil: in this case the stencils used are cut with a "jagged" edge, which creates the illusion that these carp were dyed onto the cloth using the kasuri method of dyeing, which is a Japanese ikat.

A wisp of light fading to the proper top left corner of this piece, otherwise in good condition.

A gorgeous, sophisticated thing.