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Introduction

Bandhani to Batik

Resist-Dyed Textiles from Asia
June 3 - October 16, 2005

Cultures around the world and across time have developed methods of making patterns on dyed fabric by applying a substance that will resist the absorption of the colorant in certain areas. This exhibition explores the enormous range and versatility of resist-dyeing as exemplified in Asian textile masterworks.

Resists can be used on finished fabric or on the threads that will be woven into cloth after dyeing. Resist-dye techniques include drawing, stamping, or stenciling designs onto fabric using water-resistant starch pastes or wax; clamping folded fabric between shaped blocks or pads; or tightly wrapping, tying, or stitching with some impervious material around groups of threads or sections of cloth to protect them from contact with the dye. In all of these, the pattern is built up color by color during the dye process, requiring separate applications and removals of the resist medium for each color in the finished design.

The cultures that use resist-dye techniques have distinctive names for each variant, some of which are now in common use around the world. Bandhani is an Indian term for tie-dyeing cloth after it is woven, a technique known as shibori in Japan and as plangi in Indonesia. Batik is the Indonesian word for drawing or stamping a wax-based resist onto woven cloth. Ikat, another Indonesian word, is the process of tie-dyeing groups of threads (warp, weft, or both) before weaving, called kasuri in Japan. The Indonesians use tritik to define stitched resists, while the Japanese have special words for clamped resists (itajime) and stenciled paste resists (katazome). Resist-dyeing in any of its forms is by definition an exacting and intricate process, and the textiles on display here testify to the ingenuity and skill of many anonymous textile artists throughout Asia.

Selected Objects

Cambodian Khmer, Cambodia

Ceremonial shawl, mid 1900s

Indonesian Sumbanese, Indonesia Sumba Savu

Sarong, early 1900s

Japanese, Japan

Woman's kimono, ca. 1820

Indian Sindhi people, India, Sindh?

Odhani (woman's head-shawl), ca. 1920

Indonesian, Roti

Selimut (man's shoulder cloth), early 1900s

Javanese, Java, Yogyakarta

Dodot (hip wrapper), 1800s

Javanese Indonesian, Java

Slendang (woman's shoulder cloth), late 1800s

Japanese, Japan

Man's kimono, 1929

Malaysian, Kelantan, probably

Sarong, 1800s

Central Asian, Bukhara

Hanging or cover, late 1800s-early 1900s

Cambodian Thai Khmer, Cambodia Thailand Siam

Shoulder cloth, late 1800s

Japanese, Japan

Woman's underkimono, early 1900s

Indonesian Sumbanese, East Sumba

Mantle (hinggi), 1900-38

Indian Gujarati, Gujarat, Surat

Patolu fragment, late 1800s

Indian Gujarati, Gujarat Saurashtra Kutch Jamnagar

Odhani (woman's head covering), late 1800s-early 1900s

Balinese, Bali

Head covering, early 1900s

Javanese Indonesian, Java

Slendang (woman's shoulder cloth), late 1800s

Bhutanese Tibetan, Tibet Bhutan

Hothra jalo kira (woman's dress), mid 1900s

Hmong Laotian, Laos

Ceremonial skirt, mid 1900s - late 1900s

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Bandhani to Batik : Resist-Dyed Textiles from Asia

June 3 - October 16, 2005
View Checklist PDF

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