A Rare and Re-Purposed Length of Indigo Dyed Pictorial Shibori: Red Snapper, Clam and Octopus

late ninetenth, early twentieth century
77" x 13 3/4", 195.5 cm x 35 cm

This is an amazingly interesting--and quite rare-to-find--length of indigo dyed cotton shibori. It is a repurposed from a yukata or a ceremonial kimono and it shows oversized, stitched shibori sea creatures.

Because this length is a random recombination of parts from a whole garment we see only fragments of whole images, each of which is rendered in shibori in such a charmingly spirited way that it is hard not to fall in love with this piece.

On top we see part of a clam, then in the center comes a fragment of the body of a red snapper or tai, and below this, at bottom, is a fragment of the tentacles of an octopus, shown in details as moving or undulating--a great observation on the part of the shibori artist.

Because this length is repurposed from other pieces and it is old is shows the kind of surface wear and other marring that any cloth of this age would show: there is light fading, snags and other small imperfections.

Originally the garment this was taken from might have been a yukata (an unlined, casual, summer kimono) or perhaps it was a kind of garment worn at a festival: this is not known.

Still this is a length of cloth to celebrate not only for its fine artistry but also for its unusual images that are dyed in such a surprisingly large scale. Truly wonderful, truly spectacular.

Highly recommended.