MAG Collection - Stencil (Katagami)

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Stencil (Katagami)

19th Century
11 7/8 x 16 9/16 in. (30.2 x 42.1 cm)

Japanese artist
Japan

Object Type: Stencil

Medium and Support: Mulberry paper and hair

Credit Line: Gift of the Women's Council of the Memorial Art Gallery

Accession Number: 1956.77.4

Link to this object

Location: Not currently on view

Paper stencils were used in Japan for over 500 years to dye almost every type of clothing, from the formal dress of samurai and silk kimono to hemp and cotton work clothing. Their patterns show a vast array of every type of decoration, including stripes, vines, flowers and butterflies. Stencils are made of two or more layers of handmade mulberry paper laminated together and waterproofed. They are then cured with smoke, which gives the paper stiffness and turns it a rich brown. Openwork patterns like this were carved away and then reinforced with a network of fine silk threads sandwiched between the layers of paper.

[Gallery label text, 2006]

Provenance

M. Louise Stowell and Margaret Sterling; their gift to the Council for the Gallery in 1956

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Japanese

19th century

stencils

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