Boro Futon - Antique Indigo Cottons

Antique Japanese boro futonji with many patches and thousands of sashiko stitches.

Wide array of antique variegated Japanese hand loomed cotton textiles all held together with dense sashiko stitching, displaying a beautiful geometry of variegated indigo cottons. 

Of note is the indigo kumo or "spiderweb" shibori cotton patch on the lower left, and just above it a tsutsugaki floral pattern, perhaps salvaged from an old furoshiki or other textile.

In just one futonji we have several good examples of different Japanese techniques--sashiko, kasuri, tsutsugaki, shibori--arranged in an unintended and artful pattern.  

This is a very large and excellent example of a Japanese boro folk textile, and a collectible piece.

Dimensions: 52.5 x 78.5 in; 133 x 199cm
Late 1800s to early 1900s