A Length of Indigo Dyed Cotton Zanshi ori: Leftover Yarn Weaving

late nineteenth century
59" x 13 1/4", 150 cm x 33.5 cm

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 warp is regulated and the weft is fed with these random threads  producing an irregular horizontal 'striping'; if home threads are used, knotted slubs can often be seen.

This is a particularly good looking length of zanshi ori, notable for its rich indigo color tones and its fine design. It is regrettable that its luminous, rich, warm blue tones cannot be captured by photography because in real life the colors are almost jewel-like in their presence. 

The texture of the hand woven cloth is beautiful and the checked pattern is attractive, as is obvious.

Note the dark blue horizontal bands that are flecked with white specks which are leftover kasuri yarns, and note how you can trace the different leftover weft yarns by their sporadic color changes and their appearance and reappearance.

Simply beautiful to look at and to admire.

Recommended.