Dye-Patterned Silk

This multicolored Indian silk made its way to China, where it was used to line the embroidered Chinese coverlet with the dragon center. The pattern was produced by clamp-resist dying—an ingenious technique for producing polychrome textiles. A folded cloth is tightly pressed and clamped between pairs of wooden blocks carved with the desired decorative pattern. Then the whole unit is immersed in a dye bath. Drilled channels in the blocks enable dye to flow into selected areas. Channels for different colors allow dyes to be applied sequentially, as openings are sealed or unsealed for each hue.

cat. no. 2

Credit: Rogers Fund, 1975