Dark blue-ground decorative scarf (tisaji) with geometric patterns, second half 19th century
Unknown Ryukyuanexpand_more
Cloth: cotton; floating relief warp and weft (Yomitanzan hanaori), yoko-gasuri (weft ikat)expand_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 2019.20.191
Not on Viewexpand_more
This decorative scarf is called tisaji in Okinawan. By Okinawan custom, a young woman would weave such a scarf from yarn she dyed herself and then present it as a token of her romantic interest to the man she wished to marry. Such scarfs were also believed to carry talismanic powers, and they appear in several traditional Okinawan dances.
Like the nearby winter robe, this scarf is made with the exclusive Yomitanzan hanaori technique, introduced to the Ryūkyū Islands from Southeast Asia via trade routes in the 1300s or 1400s. Sumptuary laws restricted the technique under Ryūkyūan rule.
Details
- Title
- Dark blue-ground decorative scarf (tisaji) with geometric patterns
- Role
- Maker
- Accession Number
- 2019.20.191
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murray et al. 2018, pl. 143
- 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.
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