Jetsons MOMA Watermelon, Vintage Meisen Kimono Silk Piece from Japan 13.5" x 110" #202

Another amazing classic Meisen! Smooth silk with a slight cottony feel, but mostly a silky feel, and no shine, probably from the 1950's. Thin, fine, smooth, soft and light, with a bit of drape and a bit of body, but not a whole lot of either. It's the same front and back: true Meisen ikat, with intentional 'blurry' edges between the colors. This vintage silk is in excellent condition.

Note the last 3 photos with a few inches of hand basting on one edge. This silk used to be part of a kimono.  Back then, the best but very labor intensive way to clean a a kimono was to take it apart stitch by stitch, lay the ten different-sized rectangular pieces flat like a puzzle, in the layout originally used when it was cut from the bolt. Then each piece was hand basted back into a full long length of silk. Yes, really. Usually this new long 12-yard piece of fabric was attached to a flat smooth board to keep the silk stable and safe while it was carefully cleaned and dried, inch by inch. Then the basting stitches would be removed and usually the kimono was re-sewn for the owner. This one never went back to its owner so here it is. This type of cleaning, called araihari, was an art performed by kimono cleaning specialists so that the integrity of the silk was maintained. This long 110" piece still has a few inches of the basting stitches in it, as you can see in the last photos. They are just about in the middle of the 110" length. So the kimono was cleaned but for what ever reason, never re-made. Lucky you. 100% Silk.  Japan.