Steel-Blue-Gray Interlocking Squares, Possible Hidden Kikko Turtles, Vintage Fabric from Japan 14" x 98" Piece #229

Charcoal, cream, black, greens and blues, combine in this masterful weave from Japan. If you look closely, you'll see mostly squares, but there are also open crosses with what may be tiny, 3/8" kikko (turtles), inside.  This silk is heavy for silk, crisp and bouncy, textured, rustic yet sophisticated, slubby with mostly black as the thicker-and-thinner fibers. We're told it may be a blend of silk and hemp and that makes sense to us; it doesn't seem as soft and smooth as pure silk usually is. However, it's as light as silk; the whole piece is only 4 yards, and hemp usually adds more weight than that. So maybe all silk.  It has lots of body, is the same on both sides, quite crisp.  14" wide, almost 2-3/4 yards long. Possibly quite old, most likely handwoven. From Japan.