UROBORO

UROBORO (also spelled OUROBOROS,etc…) represents a serpent or a dragon biting its own tail and forming a circle. It appeared in almost all ancient cultures and had been important in religious and mythological symbolism, but has also been frequently used in alchemical illustrations, and was used to symbolise concepts such as completion, totality and perfection. It can be also seen as a circular never ending process where end meets start. This cyclic motion is typically encountered when collecting antiques. It is a coming and going of objects from the past, situations re-presented, vibrations of déjà vu. Every time such objects changes proprietary, the cycle starts again.

  • ‘Chasing dragons’ uchishiki drawing, Japan, Meiji (circa 1880), 82x47cm. An ‘uchishiki’ was a triangular cloth used to cover the front and sides of ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • ‘Tigers’ uchishiki drawing, Japan, Meiji (circa 1880), 69x36cm. An ‘uchishiki’ was a triangular cloth used to cover the front and sides of altars ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Yogi Boro, Japan, Meiji (circa 1880), cm 135x81. Yogi (literally ‘night wear’) can be defined as a ‘sleeping kimono’ or a ‘kimono-shaped ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Mat, Tibet, early 20th century, cm 70x55. Tibetan rugs in so-called ‘tsuk-truk’ technique (woven in narrow stripes - then joined - on ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Kinsha silk, Japan, Taisho, cm69x32. We already reported how, from the late nineteenth century onwards, the sumptuary laws of feudal Japan were ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • a Length of "Jazzy" Boro Meisen Silk, Japan, Taisho (circa 1920), cm 147x36. Meisen silk is a development of late nineteenth century ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Kinchaku bag, Japan, Meiji (circa 1880), cm 11x8. This is a very charming little drawstring ‘kinchaku’ bag, made of fragments of chirimen ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Tsutsugaki ‘noshi’ futonji panel, Japan, Meiji (circa 1880), cm 131x33. This is a really lovely panel from a bedding cloth (futonji), decorated ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Indigo Kumo Shibori Koshimaki , Japan, late Meiji (c.1900), 101x61cm. The common English translation of the Japanese word shibori is "tie-dye"; however, ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Silk temple cloth, Japan, early Showa (dated 1929), cm 212x113. This is an ‘uchishiki’, a cloth of rich silk used to decorate ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Tsutsugaki futonji panel, Japan, Meiji (circa 1880), cm 149x33. This is a panel from a bedding cloth (futonji) decorated in the so-called ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • yogi, Japan
    price:  SOLD

  • Sakabukuro, Japan, early Showa (c.1930), 75x24cm. Prior to Japan's industrialization, cotton bags permeated with persimmon tannin (kaki shibu) were used in the production ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Silk temple cloth, Japan, Meiji (circa 1900), cm 168x30. This is a vintage ‘ouhi’, part of a ‘kesa’, a robe used by ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • boro noragi, Japan, late Meiji (circa 1900), cm 82x130. This is an handsome noragi (work coat) made of recycled indigo dyed cottons; ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Silk temple cloth, Japan, Edo (18th century), cm 215x66. This is an ‘uchishiki’, a cloth of rich silk used to decorate altars ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Boro panel, Japan, Taisho (circa 1920), cm 186x37. There is a class of Japanese folk textiles known as boro, which literally translated ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Indigo shibori cloth , Japan, late Meiji (c.1910), 101x27cm. The common English translation of the Japanese word shibori is "tie-dye"; however, a ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Indigo shibori panel, Japan, Taisho (c.1920), 151x33cm. The common English translation of the Japanese word shibori is "tie-dye"; however, a more accurate ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Silk temple cloth, Japan, Showa 13 (1939), cm 81x112. This is an ‘uchishiki’, a rectangular cloth of rich silk used to cover ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Indigo shibori cloth , Japan, Taisho (c.1920), 51x64cm. The common English translation of the Japanese word shibori is "tie-dye"; however, a more ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Firefighter set, Japan, early Showa (circa 1930), cm 88x130 (jacket) – lenght cm 97 (pants). In old Japan, where wood architecture ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Silk temple cloth, Japan, late Meiji (circa 1900), cm 62x62. This is an ‘uchishiki’, a squarish cloth of rich silk used to ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Boro futon cover, Japan, Taisho (circa 1920), cm 165x102. There is a class of Japanese folk textiles known as boro, which literally ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Indigo Kumo shibori koshimaki , Japan, late Meiji (c.1900), 111x65cm. The common English translation of the Japanese word shibori is "tie-dye"; however, ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Indigo shibori panel, Japan, Taisho (c.1920), 165x33cm. The common English translation of the Japanese word shibori is "tie-dye"; however, a more accurate ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • Boro futon cover, Japan, Taisho (circa 1915), cm 167x112. There is a class of Japanese folk textiles known as boro, which literally ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • boro noragi, Japan, late Meiji (circa 1900), cm 117x123. This is a very incredible noragi (work coat) made of recycled indigo dyed ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • mat, Tibet, early 20th century, cm 76x62. Tibetan rugs in so-called ‘tsuk-truk’ technique (woven in narrow stripes - then joined - on small ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • furoshiki cloth, Japan, late Meiji (circa 1910), cm 119x126. Furoshiki were (and still are to some extent) wrapping cloths used when carrying ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • war kimono, Japan, Showa (circa 1940-1945), cm 129x128. To be precise, this is a ‘juban’, that is one of those silk robes ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • boro noragi, Japan, late Meiji (circa 1900), cm 102x121. This is an handsome noragi (work coat) made of recycled indigo dyed cottons; ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • boro flag, Japan, late Edo/early Meiji (mid 19th century), cm 194x142. There is a class of Japanese folk textiles known as boro, ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • happi coat, Japan, Showa (circa 1950), cm 78x120. Happi are those traditional Japanese work coats often wearing name of an enterprise or ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • ohenro coat, Japan, Taisho (circa 1920), cm 89x122. Rural Japan always had a strong bias towards religious sects. One of the many, ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • boro futon cover, Japan, early Showa (circa 1920), cm 175x183. There is a class of Japanese folk textiles known as boro, which ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • furoshiki cloth, Japan, early Showa (circa 1930), cm 76x75. Furoshiki were (and still are to some extent) wrapping cloths used when ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • asa katazome noren, Japan, Meiji (circa 1880), cm 147x60. ‘Asa’ is akin of linen, and is the general term used in Japan ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • hand painted kimono fragment, Japan, late Meiji (circa1910’s), 89x30cm. This is a fragment from a hemp (asa) summer kimono. The ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • two shibori oshime CLOTHs, Japan, early Showa (circa 1930), cm 133x34 each. Japan's blue-and-white cotton textiles are regularly associated with its traditional ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • indigo tsutsugaki panel, Japan, Late Meiji (circa 1910), cm 168x33. Lovely panel of tsutsugaki hand-drawn rice-paste resisted indigo cotton, dating to the ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • indigo shibori koshimaki, Japan, early Showa (c.1930), 116x62cm. The common Engl:sh translation of the Japanese word shibori is "tie-dye"; however, a more ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • silk temple cloth, Japan, Meiji (circa 1900), cm 120x118. This is an ‘uchishiki’, a squarish cloth of rich silk used to ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • a silk lenght, Japan, Taisho (c.1920), cm 384x37. a cloth length, still with its original end finishes, made from silk of highest ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • futonji, Japan, Meiji (circa 1900), cm 142x124. Bedding cover, whose rich green colour was achieved by over-dyeing indigo with a yellow ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • furoshiki cloth, Japan, Taisho (circa 1920), cm 128x130. Furoshiki were (and still are to some extent) wrapping cloths used when carrying ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • silk temple cloth, Japan, Meiji (circa 1880), cm 111x108. This is an ‘uchishiki’, a squarish cloth of rich silk used to cover ... read more
    price:  SOLD

  • fukusa, Japan, Taisho (circa 1920), cm 65x65. a fukusa is an elaborately decorated square of cloth used to cover a ... read more
    price:  $100