Cloth: paper; shibori (tie-dyeing), 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 2019.20.63.1
Material and technique: Mulberry paper and tie-dyeing (shibori)
This example of indigo-dyed paper features large circles created by kumo shibori, literally spider tie-dye, a technique that produces the spider web–like circles with radiating lines striped of white. It is a special type of mat (chagujoku or sagujoku) placed underneath tea utensils and charcoal braziers when serving sencha, a loose-leaf green tea, in a ritual (senchadō). Introduced from China by the Zen monk Ingen Ryūki (1592–1673) and popular in Japan by 1800, senchadō is a way of tea appreciation and social activity. During the ritual, the host would lay the utensils on a mat, which functioned not only as protection but also as an object for contemplation.
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