Japanese Fukuro Obi with Floral Hexagons

Pink blossoms scatter across a silvery lattice of hexagons, politely and in good order.

This fukuro obi with floral hexagons is from Japan, and is ca. 1940. It is silk. Silk obi of the early twentieth century were commonly woven on jacquard looms, which allowed repeating motifs such as flowers, crests and geometric medallions to be set across the sash. At a glance, a folded textile in pale white-grey with a sheen, woven with a pattern of large linked hexagons. The sheen shifts softly across the folds, and edges show a fine woven texture. It is 12 inches wide and 173 long.

Geometry on the outside and a garden growing inside it.