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013 Timor, West Timor
Mau naek (men's wrap)  
| | Locale: | Amanuban, largest of the Atoni kingdoms. | | Period: | 1910-1930 | | Yarn: | Cotton, hand-spun, coarse | | Technique: | Warp ikat | | Panels: | 2 | | Size: | 107 x 160 cm (3' 6" x 5' 2") LW: 1.50 | | Weight: | 805 g (28.4 oz), 470 g/m2 (1.54 oz/ft2) | | Design: | Old, 'full asli' men's wrap made exclusively with hand-spun cotton and natural colours. Eight ikated bands with motifs that represent skull trees, more literally 'head tree', hau nakaf, ‘head banyan’, nunuh nakaf, or ‘head oak’, usaip nakaf - eloquent markers of the murderous success of the local enmity cult. This type of motif is very rare on Timor ikat. The only other examples we have seen are one from the same region, one from East Timor. Note the asymmetry: during the assembly of the two panels, one was flipped along its horizontal axis. Amanuban is the only region in West Timor where such asymmetry is encountered, whereas it is found in East Timorese Oecusse (Ambenu) with some frequency.. | | Comment: | In Amanuban, close to the port town Kupang, such fully traditional ikat - of all hand spun cotton and natural dyes only - stopped being made early. Even though there is one small error of alignment, the overall appearance is that of very tight ikat, with sharp outlines of the motifs and practically no capillary seepage. Because it was briefly used as a curtain, one side is lightly faded. The better side is full of warm natural colour. In good cosmetic condition: free of stains, tears and holes. The cloth has a soft patina, and an almost brittle old feel. | | Background: | Chapters on Timor and West Timor. | | Exhibited: | Timor: Totems and Tokens, Museu do Oriente, Lisbon, 2019/20. | | Published: | Timor: Totems and Tokens, 2019.
| | Compare: | 258 282 298 312 332 | | Sources: | Main ikated motif very similar to that on cloth probably from Fataluku region of East Timor depicted in Hamilton and Barrkman, Textiles of Timor, Fig. 2.74. Also similar to motif on mau in collection Georges Breguet depicted in Yeager and Jacobson, Textiles of Western Timor work, Fig. 106, and to tree or bush in Fig. 51d, described as floral motif of probable Dutch inspiration. Also similar to motif on old Viqueque sarong PC 298. Information on Atoni skull trees from Andrew McWilliam, Trunk and Tip in West Timor: Precedence in a botanical idiom. | | |
©Peter ten Hoopen, 2024
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ONLINE MUSEUM OF INDONESIAN IKAT TEXTILES
CURATOR: Dr PETER TEN HOOPEN BROWSE FROM:
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