Pepper-Eye Weave — Double-Sided Jiangnan Homespun
A narrow, substantial Jiangnan homespun whose tiny off-white woven points create the regional “pepper-eye” effect across a dark yarn-dyed check.
- Object ID
- TA-JN-0004
- Origin
- Jiangnan · Likely Shanghai Pudong / Chongming / Nantong area
- Period
- c. 1940s–1950s
- Dating confidence
- probable
- Material
- Handspun cotton
- Dimensions
- Approx. 240 × 30 cm total available length; sold by 50 cm
- Technique
- Handwoven homespun · Yarn-dyed weave · Double-sided woven pattern
- Pattern
- Pepper-eye / 胡椒眼纹 · Geometric plaid
- Colours
- Indigo-toned blue · Charcoal · Green · Muted jujube red · Natural off-white
Object condition
Very good vintage condition, with strong woven structure, handspun slubs, cotton particles and tonal variation retained as original character.
Identification notes
The pattern is woven clearly on both sides rather than printed, making the textile useful for projects where both faces remain visible.
胡椒眼纹 — pepper-eye pattern — is a descriptive regional name for the dense tiny light marks that resemble pepper seeds or small eyes.
The approximately 30 cm width is consistent with older narrow household looms.
The listing also notes characteristics associated with traditional plant-ash preparation in some yarns; this remains a working material interpretation.
A pattern named for the smallest marks
Pepper-Eye shows how regional textile naming can emerge from very small visual units rather than large figurative motifs.
Its double-sided construction and narrow loom width make it especially useful for comparing structure, scale and naming conventions in older Jiangnan weaving.
