Indigo Kumo Shibori Koshimaki , Japan, late Meiji (c.1900), 101x61cm. The common English translation of the Japanese word shibori is "tie-dye"; however, a more accurate translation is "shaped-resist dyeing," which describes the inherent patterning process of manipulating the two-dimensional cloth surface into three-dimensional shapes before compressing them to dye. Diverse shibori techniques are used to obtain different patterns, and sometimes they can be combined to obtain a certain result. This is the case with the present item, part of a lovely indigo shibori cotton koshimaki (underkimono), that is a short sarong-like garment that is worn for warmth and support. This piece features large and small spider-webs of kumo shibori, divided by belts of great indigo colour. Kumo shibori has long been known in Japan. a twelfth-century painting shows a simple hemp garment with a pattern that resembles this type of shibori. It appears frequently in the ukiyo-e (wood block-prints) of the Edo period (1603-1868), which depict the lives of people from all parts of society. In the nineteenth century, an unusually fine type of pleated and bound kumo shibori dyed in indigo on fine cotton became very fashionable. The present cloth, obtained by sewing together two smaller ones of different lenghts, shows how the ability of a master-dyer can lead to eye-catching results. We sold a few weeks ago on this same website another shibori cloth very, very similar to this (and possibly from same koshimaki). Condition is not exactly mint, the main issues being a couple of tiny holes scattered across the fabric plus a larger one at top left (see picture), and a rather strong age patina. Re. patina, to me it is not an issue, rather an added value to the look of cloth, but this is of course just my personal viewpoint… In any case, a wonderful witness of a great textile tradition.