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Unknown Maker, Sumatran

Hip wrapper (kain songket)

Maker

Unknown Maker, Sumatran

Culture

Sumatran

Title

Hip wrapper (kain songket)

Year

1800s

Medium

  • silk,
  • metal-wrapped thread; weft ikat,
  • supplementary gold weft patterning (songket

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Silk,
  • metal-wrapped thread; weft ikat,
  • supplementary gold weft patterning (songket

Materials

silk

Geography

Place Made: Sumatra

Dimensions

Length: 182.9 cm (72 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Marshall H. Gould

Object Number

46.211

Type

  • Textiles

Exhibition History

Zone of Attraction
Indonesian Textiles from the Permanent Collection
Jun 26, 2009 – Dec 06, 2009

Label copy

Gold has communicated ceremonial significance, wealth, and prestige throughout history. These paired textiles show two techniques of gold work on cloth, each representative of its region in Indonesia. Prada, or painting with gold, has long been a form of embellishment in Bali, and was once an important component in the masked dance drama known as topeng. Today, prada decoration is commonly seen in temple festivals. The example on view here is of the finest sort and would have taken six months to a year to complete. The base fabric originated in Java, where it was hand drawn and resist-dyed multiple times with indigo to achieve its saturated blue. The gold was later applied by hand in Bali. The second textile is an example of songket, gold-wrapped supplemental weft threads and weft ikat. Characteristic of Sumatra, songket textiles are used to underlay sacrificial offerings, to embellish architecture, and for making clothing and parasols.

A World of Costume and Textiles
"Tapestries through the Ages"
Sep 22, 1989 – Nov 12, 1989

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Sumatran
Hip wrapper (kain songket), 1800s
Silk, metal-wrapped thread; weft ikat, supplementary gold weft patterning (songket
Length: 182.9 cm (72 inches)
Gift of Marshall H. Gould 46.211

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