Antique Japanese Indigo Katazome Textile Panel with Cranes and Carriage Wheels

Size: Approximately 12 by 27.5 inches
Japan · Antique; exact date not recorded · Cotton

Cranes sit inside pointed ovals on this narrow Japanese katazome panel, alternating with eight-spoked carriage wheels and curling vines. The pale blue-white pattern stands out against deep indigo.

Katazome uses stencils and resist paste to keep selected areas from taking dye. The wheels are the genji-guruma, or Genji carriage-wheel, motif.

Turn it over and the same repeat is visible in darker, softer color.

Details

• Technique: Katazome stencil-resist dyeing
• Design: Cranes, curling vines, and genji-guruma carriage wheels
• Construction: Single-layer plain-weave textile panel with unfinished edges

Condition

It’s in good antique condition, with light surface wear and variation in tone. There’s one tiny hole, two pinholes, and several other small holes near one end. The unfinished cut edges are lightly frayed.