Japanese Ceremonial Silk Wall Tapestry – The Imperial Season, Heian Grand Hunt in Brown and Gold

A Heian court frozen in gold. Woven on the most prestigious silk, once.

The Imperial Season is mounted from a Maru-obi (丸帯) — the most ceremonial obi format in the Japanese textile tradition, worn at the highest weddings and reserved for occasions of state. The original obi was woven in Nishijin Kinran (西陣金襴) brocade, the technique in which gold-foil-wrapped thread is integrated into the silk warp during weaving rather than embroidered afterwards, producing depth that printed cloth cannot reach. Across its length, a Heian grand hunt is rendered in figures of horsemen, hounds, and falconers, the gold catching differently at every angle of light.

At the atelier we cut a length from the original obi, redesigned the composition for vertical wall format, and lined the back of the silk with an undyed support cloth to hold the metallic threads against gravity over years of hanging. The piece is mounted between handmade hardwood bars at the top and bottom edges, finished with a leather hanging cord, and supplied ready to hang. The bars are part of the work, not a separate purchase. The original textile is preserved entirely; the visible silk is the obi as it was woven.

A piece of this scale and weight will not pass unnoticed. It belongs against a wall that has nothing else competing for attention — the long axis of an entrance hall, the principal wall of a study, the lobby of a boutique hotel where arriving guests should encounter one considered object rather than many. Equally, the suite of a residence where the wall has been waiting for what it has not yet been given.

Renaras: existing Japanese ceremonial silk, preserved at gallery scale and brought into rooms where it can be seen.

Each tapestry arrives with its own passport from the atelier — a handmade record of the obi's first life, the composition that was cut from it, the lining and mounting it received, signed and dated in Amsterdam.

Material: Japanese ceremonial silk, Maru-obi (丸帯) in Nishijin Kinran (西陣金襴) brocade
Dimensions: Approx. 100 × 35 cm displayed
Construction: Cut and redesigned from a Japanese ceremonial silk obi, lined to support the silk threads, mounted on handmade hardwood bars and finished with a leather hanging cord. Bars and cord supplied. No metal touches the visible silk.
Care: Dust with a soft brush. Avoid direct sunlight.
Origin: Japanese ceremonial silk, redesigned and finished at the Renaras atelier, Netherlands.

Each tapestry arrives complete with its mounting hardware. For private viewings and hospitality enquiries, contact the atelier.

One silk. One story. One piece. Never repeated.