Dictionary Definition
nankeen n : a durable fabric formerly loomed by
hand in China from natural cotton having a yellowish color
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Noun
- a type of cotton cloth originally from Nanking in China.
Quotations
- He put on over his shirt his wife's wadded nankeen jacket, and over that he put his own cloth coat. — Leo Tolstoy, What Men Live By and Other Tales, translated by L. and A. Maude
Extensive Definition
Nankeen, also called Nankeen cloth or Blue
Nankeen, refers to a particular type of cotton cloth, manufacturing of
which originated in Nanking region of
China. More
specifically, the term "blue nankeen" describes hand-printed
fabric of artistic
refinement and primitive simplicity, which originated on the
Silk
Road over three thousand years ago.
Hand-carved stencils, originally made from
wood but now from heavy paper, are prepared and a mix of soya bean flour
and slaked lime
is applied through the openings of the stencil onto the 100% cotton
fabric. When dry, the fabric is then dipped numerous times into the
large tubs containing the indigo dye. After the right color
is achieved and the fabric has dried, the paste is scraped off,
revealing the white patterns on the blue cloth. The fabric is then
washed, dried, and ironed before fabrication into the Nankeen
collection. Such fabric represents a fast-disappearing historic art
form which embodies ancient Chinese culture and traditions.