UROBORO
UROBORO (also spelled OUROBOROS,etc…) represents a serpent or a dragon biting its own tail and forming a circle. It appeared in almost all ancient cultures and had been important in religious and mythological symbolism, but has also been frequently used in alchemical illustrations, and was used to symbolise concepts such as completion, totality and perfection. It can be also seen as a circular never ending process where end meets start. This cyclic motion is typically encountered when collecting antiques. It is a coming and going of objects from the past, situations re-presented, vibrations of déjà vu. Every time such objects changes proprietary, the cycle starts again.
That blue butterfly fabric is gorgeous, it's a shame theres none left!
ReplyDeleteGoodness you are supposed to be resting and recovering not torturing yourself ;-) I got thru 2 pages and had to turn it off....Lovely, lovely, lovely!!
ReplyDeleteSome interesting things. Wish more of the prices were visible! Going by those that are, for Japanese items www.ichiroya.com would be more reasonable - they have a lot of similar stuff and deal in English too. Great site and lovely people.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of things going through this cycle!
Looked up the term "uroboro" as it sounds very similar to the Japanese "boro" meaning "rag" but it looks like the sound is coincidental. Found some interesting images that look like they have come from Medieval bestiaries!
Having bought several things from the lovely people at Ichiroya I would agree Susan. Interesting things here too though. Thank you a million....I've just started a workshop with Jude Hill and she keeps referring to "boro", I didn't know what it meant and you've saved me having to find out, you're a star!
ReplyDeleteBeware, those old rag pieces are very addictive! :-)
ReplyDeletenice aren't they? i've visited both sites but this one was new to me and i thought they had some very unique and quality pieces. visited a museum in pasadena today that had a very small exhibit titled "blue & white". the textile pieces there were worth seeing. a sakiori vest, an indigo boro-esque hanten that apparently was a policeman's garment with sashiko, a wedding bed kimono-something i had not known of- stuffed blanket in the shape of a kimono made for the wedding night, and a very nice double ikat yukata. all indigo dyed.
ReplyDeleteIf you want read about Japanese cotton textile history and see over 100 excellent examples of old traditional boro and sashiko textiles, take a look at this page on my site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kimonoboy.com/short_history.html
Thanks for that link Jim, interesting article, lovely things.
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