|
Radio-carbon dated ETH-35480, 95.4% 1530 - 1610.
Technique: Warp ikat, single-ply handspun cotton warp and weft (blue)
Description: The textile has weft selvages and cut warp ends. Another example very related to this has a continuous warp. Looking at this textile closely it appears that the warps may have been cut exactly at the place where the last wefts were inserted, so I do not believe that there is a part of the original missing .
The textile is composed of one section with its weft selvages of solid medium indigo dyed blue. The second section has bands of fine linear ikat divided by blue stripes. Some of these bands are very dark blue and others a medium depth blue. The ikat design is in a reddish tan color set on a purple-colored ground that is made from an overdyeing of red and blue. The motifs are punctuated by small spots of these two colors; a light red and a light blue.
The bands of motifs include step motifs, horizontally oriented "S" shapes, interlocking spirals, a continuous triangular or cone shape and a running geometric border. These curvilinear designs are beautifully articulated in harmonic coloration.
To the best of my knowledge there are less than five other known examples or related textiles collected in Sulawesi and perhaps only ten other textiles that might be dated to before the 17th century from other areas of Indonesia. It is very rare and a remarkable discovery.
The textile is lightly sewn on to a support fabric. It is shown as it would have been seen as a garment that is folded in to a circular format. It could of course be opened to show the entire length.
Dimensions:
Warp: 80 1/2", weft: 19" ( 2.05 x 0.49 m ); mounting fabric dimensions, 3' 9 1/2" x 2' 3 1/4" ( 1.16 x 0.69 m )
|
