Bedding cover (futonji) with turnip motif, late 19th-early 20th century
Unknown Japaneseexpand_more
Cloth: cotton; tsutsugaki (freehand resist), indigo dyeexpand_more
The John R. Van Derlip Fund and the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; purchase from the Thomas Murray Collectionexpand_more 2019.20.110
Not on Viewexpand_more
Two turnips arranged in opposite directions decorate this bedding cover, made from five rectangular cotton panels. The cover was likely made for a man as the word for turnips, kabu, is a homonym for kabu o ageru, which means improving one’s reputation.
To achieve two shades of blue using indigo dye, the dyer required several stages of production. First, the dyer drew the original turnip design using tsutsugaki, a freehand resist-dyeing technique in which starch paste is dripped out of a tube, creating lines. Second, after dyeing the cloth once, he reapplied starch using the same technique, but not in all the same places, resulting in varying depths of blue, light to midnight.
Details
- Title
- Bedding cover (futonji) with turnip motif
- Role
- Maker
- Accession Number
- 2019.20.110
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murray et al. 2018, pl. 80
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know
Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.