| |
 
 | | | |
181 Timor, West Timor
Mau naek (men's wrap)  
| | Locale: | Amanuban or Miomafo. | | Period: | 1925-1950 | | Yarn: | Cotton, hand-spun, fine | | Technique: | Warp ikat | | Panels: | 2 | | Size: | 87 x 172 cm (2' 10" x 5' 7") LW: 1.98 | | Weight: | 490 g (17.3 oz), 327 g/m2 (1.07 oz/ft2) | | Design: | Stacked and interlocking humanoid figures, shaped to make them froglike, 'frogmen'. Locally called katak (frog) motif, which represents the life cycle of generations. Curiously, the style of the headdress, with the inward curl, which recalls the pilu saluf headdress of a meo warrior, is very similar to that on a Sarawak pua, 037, suggesting that this is an archaic motif with once wide distribution. | | Comment: | One of the better examples of the type, with intricate patterns and clear weaving. Almost in 'as new' condition, but smell of decomposing indigo supports creation around 1950. Made in fine hand spun, not immediately apparent, as it was done in tabby weave using double warp and single weft (one weft double weave), giving it a sturdy feel, which 'impersonates' cloth made in coarser yarn. Weaver used double weft for the last few sheds, left a short section of unwoven warp, made one final pass of double weft, then left a longer section of weft before securing the cloth with two rows of twinning, wrapping the warps in groups of three (‘3-span’ twinning). Note that large men's wraps are called mau naek in Amanuban, beti naik in Miomafo, the cloth's alternative origin. | | Background: | Chapters on Timor and West Timor. | | Exhibited: | .
Timor: Totems and Tokens, Museu do Oriente, Lisbon, 2019/20. | | Published: | Ikat Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago, 2018.
Timor: Totems and Tokens, 2019.
Ikat Textiles of Timor: Indonesian and Timor-Leste, 2025. | | Compare: | 112 182 005 245 312 | | Sources: | Motif very similar to Yeager and Jacobson, Textiles of Western Timor, Fig. 45c. Quote, p. 126, re Amanuban textiles: 'They have been portrayed in textiles books as superlative examples of Timorese ikat.' Also similar to motif in Langewis and Wagner, Decorative Art in Indonesian Textiles, Plate 17. Somewhat similar to Niki-Niki beti in Van Hout, Indonesian Textiles at the Tropenmuseum, Fig. 8. Notes on weaving technique provided by Sue Richardson. | | |
©Peter ten Hoopen, 2024
All rights reserved.
|
|
ONLINE MUSEUM OF INDONESIAN IKAT TEXTILES
CURATOR: Dr PETER TEN HOOPEN BROWSE FROM:
[RANDOM] [001] [050] [100] [150] [200] [250] [300] [350] [375]