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212 Borneo, Kalimantan
Kain kebat (skirt cloth)  
| | Locale: | Ketungau river region | | Period: | Late 19th - early 20th c. | | Yarn: | Cotton, hand-spun, fine | | Technique: | Warp ikat | | Panels: | 1 | | Size: | 56 x 129 cm (1' 10" x 4' 2") LW: 2.30 | | Weight: | 205 g (7.2 oz), 284 g/m2 (0.93 oz/ft2) | | Design: | A motif that is not uncommon in the region, rendered with uncommon precision. Field covered in pattern largely built up of rhomboids that enclose motif very similar to the kaif motifs of Timor, which there represent links to the ancestors. Intricate borders. The combination of two or three distinct, dissimilar design elements is a characteristic feature of Ketungau kain kebat, though it is not always so clearly present. Another hallmark of Ketungau is a number of hexagons arranged in one or more rows, which represent ossuaries. | | Comment: | Antique kain kebat from the Ketungau rivers area, possibly the Desa tribe, extraordinarily intricate, even by the generally high standards of the region. The very precise rendering of the complex patterns shows the confident hand of a master. Pieces like this are rare. Immaculate condition - echoing Heribert Amann, speaking of Ibanic textiles that entered museum collections between 1860 and 1900: 'Some of these appear brand new, as if they had been woven just before they were acquired and never used.' | | Background: | Chapters on Borneo and Kalimantan. | | Exhibited: | Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery, 2017. | | Published: | Ikat Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago, 2018.
| | Compare: | 220 229 242 300 243 | | Sources: | Similar, in terms of field division and hallmarks, to the 'Ketungau' kain kebat in the Amann collection, Khan Majlis, Textiles from Borneo, Plates 88-90, though of another level of intricacy. | | |
©Peter ten Hoopen, 2025
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ONLINE MUSEUM OF INDONESIAN IKAT TEXTILES
CURATOR: Dr PETER TEN HOOPEN BROWSE FROM:
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