A Length of Indigo Dyed Katazome Cotton: Highly Stylized Dragonflies

early twentieth century
37 1/4" x 13", 94.5 cm x 33 cm

This length of indigo dyed cotton katazome cloth shows a highly unusual repeat pattern, that is one of highly stylized, geometrically drawn dragonfiles set against a stippled background.

What is remarkable about this length is that is stencil resist dyed on both sides so the pattern is as clear on the back as it is on the front: katazome cloth with this characteristic is noteworthy.

As can be seen there is some scuffing. blurring or loss to the indigo tone on some parts of the cloth. This could have been done in the dyeing process. 

The pattern, though, is so original and so wonderfully refreshing that a small detail like scuffing or loss of dye is not so important. 

This is a very unusual pattern!