boro rug, Japan, Taisho (circa 1920), cm175x97. Carpets have been rather seldom used in Japan. After the Meiji Restoration a few made their way into the houses there, and this gave the go to a local production of all-cotton knotted rugs. a small output for the wealthy classes, mostly on just a one-size format (circa 180x100cm). Commoners and country people were instead using mended and patched textiles (boro) for the purpose, and the present is possibly such an item to be used on the floor (given size and construction). ‘Boro’ means rag, so one could say we have here a ‘rag rug’ (….) with the field composed of an ensemble of small striped pieces of white cottons pieced together, plus a few other patches with different designs. The border has a lovely floral motif on indigo using the ‘kasuri’ (double ikat) technique. The back (or lining) shows a composition of striped cottons in the shades of grey and blue. Most of cottons are probably hand spun, the construction and patching are all hand done and there is no discernable staining.