Unknown Maker, Indonesian

Young women in the Kauer district of the western highlands of south Sumatra wear these short jackets for ceremonial occasions. There is little variation in their design yet each jacket illustrates complex and intricately worked materials. The ornament here - shells and colorful hornbill motifs - is centered on the front and back, indicating a talisman-like function of invoking good luck or protection. The fabric was woven on a backstrap or tension loom, a loom introduced hundreds of years ago from Southern China that eventually dominated weaving technique on all of the islands.

Until quite recently the Kaur people were isolated in a virtually inaccessible part of Sumatra. A network of roads has brought them into greater contact with contemporary Indonesian culture. To date little is known of the Kaur people's textile production, but it does seem to incorporate elements of the ancient animist belief system as well as the more recent overlay of Islamic culture.