Two Panels of Tsutsugaki Dyed Cotton: Family Crest

late nineteenth, early twentieth century
57" x 24 1/2", 145 cm x 62 cm

This is a presentation of two hand spun, hand woven, indigo dyed cotton panels taken from the back of a yogi which is a kimono-shaped duvet.

These two panels are hand stitched together and are dyed in the tsutsugaki method which uses freehand resist drawing to create images.

The design of these two panels is dominated by the oversized family crest at top. This crest shows a four-petaled flower which is called "melon" and of this design there are countless variations as crests.

Below this looming family crest or mon are celestial images of clouds and circles which might be an allusion to the Buddhist jewel or hoju.

The tsutsugaki images are done with a bit of a rustic hand as you can see when looking at the detail images associated with this post: the outlines of the images are shaky or imperfect which makes this type of rendering appealing in a folk art sort of way.

Please note a small, very narrow bit of loss to the upper, left hand corner selvedge.

Otherwise these panels are in good, condition with deep indigo color and no noticeable damage.

Recommended.