MIN PO PATCHWORK POJAGI

Just like the rumal of India and the boccha of the Ottoman Empire, the pojagi is an embelished square-form textile meant to cover or wrap gifts. After the presentation of the gift the wrap is taken back by the giver for reusing.

Used throughout the Choson dynasty by all economic classes, Pojagis had sub-categories based on the recipient of the gift the occasion and the material used, with the upper classes commanding silk while lower classes using hemp or ramie. Their size varies from 12” for food wrapping to 10’ for bedding.

Traditionally made by women using remnants and discarded materials, the pojagi is an artistic creation that is achieved through the combination of colors, the shape of the fragments, and the stitch work. The fact that many of the surviving Pojagis are in good condition attest to the fact that they were treated as family heirlooms and not used very often.

This pojagi incorporates small rectangles of figured ramie into a patchwork. Its beauty, evident in the intricacy of the patchwork and the harmonious balancing and contrasting of of colors. It is backed with silk and the stitching of the border is done with two different color yarns in meticulous counted stitch.