Description
Antique meisen silk kimono w/ woven crosses and squares
Lovely antique Meisen silk kimono in wine red with pattern woven in yellow and white.
In good to very good condition for the age. Very tiny minor flaws pointed out in photos but still very wearable.
Measures 146 cm long, 123 cm from sleeve edge to sleeve edge, the sleeve drop is 66 cm, and the back width is 57 cm.
• Meisen: Meisen silk, generally crisp and supple, is one of the Japanese silks fabricated by weaving pre-dyed threads, utilizing the tie-and-resist ikat technique (ikat is an Indonesian term widely utilized to refer to this technique).
In this process, the threads, silk or cotton, are first stretched on a frame. Selected design areas are tightly bound to prevent the dye from penetrating and the hanks of threads are immersed in the dye pots. The bound portions of the yarns resist the dye and when woven, as a result of the threads not being perfectly aligned, create shapes with charmingly uneven edges.
Other Japanese textiles that are made with variations of this technique are cotton kasuri,omeshi silk and tsumugi silk. (described below).
Meisen silk was a popular fabric for casual kimono from 1910 to 1950, in part because it was more affordable, and in part because the designs, frequently drawing on Western influences, seemed adventurous and innovative. Even today they retain a contemporary sensibility.
