Antique Japanese Indigo Textile Panel with Swallows

Size: Approximately 13.5 by 51.5 inches (34.3 by 130.8 cm)
Japan · Early 20th century · Hand-dyed indigo cotton

Swallows, known in Japan as tsubame, are a familiar motif in Japanese decorative arts, often associated with spring and the changing seasons. This antique indigo cotton panel pairs them with delicate kanoko circular patterns in a repeating resist-dyed design.

Kanoko takes its name from the spotted markings of a young deer. In traditional Japanese kanoko shibori, small sections of cloth are individually bound before dyeing to create the characteristic dotted pattern. This hand-dyeing tradition is an important part of Japan's textile heritage, and the combination of swallows and kanoko gives this piece a distinctive character.

The long, narrow format of this piece preserves a generous continuous section of the original pattern, well suited to textile mounting, framing, or creative reuse.

Details

• Technique: Traditional hand-dyed indigo resist dyeing with kanoko patterns
• Design: Tsubame (swallows) with kanoko dotted patterns
• Material: Cotton

Condition

• Excellent antique condition, as observed in the photographs.