Japanese Fukuro Obi with Mon Motifs

Brown crests circle across a saffron ground, with one butterfly in the spotlight.

This fukuro obi with mon motifs is from Japan, and is ca. 1940. It is silk. A fukuro obi is a woven sash worn with a kimono, made as a bag-like tube of doubled cloth so that it is patterned on both faces. Overall, a folded textile in warm saffron yellow with large round crests in brown tones. One shows a butterfly with spread wings, another a six-petalled flower. Partial circles run along the lower fold, edged with a narrow band of blue and cream. It is 12 inches wide and 161 long.

Bold circles, soft butterfly, and sunshine woven into the background.