Tapis Cucuanda, women’s ceremonial tube-skirt, Kauer People, Lampung, Sumatra, late 19th century, hand woven cotton and silk ground cloth with applied lead-backed mica mirrors and silk embroidery, natural dyes.
All Lampung women must complete a tapis skirt cloth prior to marriage, and then wear it to ceremonial occasions thereafter. Each village and watershed has its own distinctive style of skirt, allowing women who marry outside their immediate community to be identified according to their origin for the rest of their life. This is a superb example in excellent condition. Probably pre-Krakatoa.
Woman’s shoulder or hip cloth, Pasemah highlands, Bengkulu Province, Sumatra, ca. 1900 or earlier, weft ikat, supplementary weft, lead foil wrapping on warp fringes.
Pasemah is still an obscure and relatively mysterious place rarely visited by travellers, and not easily accessible. Many strange creatures, cultures and plants can be discovered there, including the Rafflesia arnoldii, a gargantuan flower that smells like rotting flesh. At left is a 1930s photograph of one about to bloom in the Pasemah highlands. This textile is almost as strange as the flower, combining silk, cotton, bast and metallic threads. The lead on the fringes is probably from opium packet wrappers.
Shouldercloth, Pasemah highlands, Bengkulu Province, Sumatra, 19th century, weft ikat patterning and gold supplementary weft on cotton and other fibers, natural dyes.
At left is an early 19th century illustration of the landscape of the Pasemah region, as recalled by a British expedition to the interior. Wild. The culture and the landscape of the Pasemah highlands to this day are little known and seldom studied. The inset photograph from the 1930s shows Pasemah dancers; a poignant illustration of the archaic nature of the cultures of the Bengkulu interior.
Pelangi shoulder or head cloth, Palembang, South Sumatra, early 20th century, tied dye resist patterning on silk.
The composition and patterning technique of pelangi (“rainbow”) textiles such as this one clearly reflects influence of Indian textile traditions in Palembang. The city has been an important centre for maritime trade for over a millenium, and has absorbed a variety of influences from many cultures (East Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Arab world and Europe). The image at left shows an 18th century depiction of women’s dress, and a view near Palembang.
Batik shouldercloth, (collected in) Jambi, Sumatra, mid-20th century, hand-drawn batik, natural dyes.
The style of the white-ground areas links it to the prestigious Batik Jufri type, yet the overall composition is rather unusual. The effect is like looking through a window at a great rectangular slab floating in a starry, night sky. Graphically powerful, with great dimension. At left, a Jambi woman wearing a batik shouldercloth in the way this textile would have been worn.
Kain Limar shoulder cloth, Bangka Island, Palembang Regency, South Sumatra, early 20th century, weft ikat patterning on silk, high-karat gold-wrapped supplementary weft patterning on warp ends, natural dyes.
Palembang has been a rich coastal capital for over a millenium. It was an ultra-important port for the pepper trade, and flourished (see 18th century view at left). In Europe, where pepper was believed to prevent syphillis and bubonic plague, wealthy nobles would pay more for the stuff than for gold. Palembang prospered, and its textiles still reflect that prosperity. This piece is rich, lavish, stunning, in great condition, and the patola pattern of the ikat speaks with restrained dignity.
Ulos, men’s shoulder or hip cloth, Toba Batak people, North Sumatra, first half 20th century, warp ikat with fringe and small bands of twining on warp ends, natural dyes.
The sharp and intense “arrow” ikat on the centre field of this piece create optical effects akin to moiré patterns, which bring to mind the sound of feedback, were the patterns in fact an oscilloscope reading, rather than a textile. At left, Batak shamans wearing ulos as skirt cloths, and shoulder cloths, ca. 1900.
Ulos, women’s shoulder or headcloth, Toba Batak people, North Sumatra, first half 20th century, warp ikat with fringe and small bands of twining on warp ends, natural dyes.
The indigo-on-indigo ikat patterning is somehow reminiscent of oscilloscope readings for intense high-frequency sound; a textile you can almost “hear”. Graphically very powerful. At left, a Batak woman in traditional dress, wearing an ulos as a body wrap, and another as a headscarf, ca. 1900.
