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367 Moluccas, Tanimbar
Selendang (shawl)
| | Locale: | Unidentified island. | | Period: | Early 20th c. or before | | Yarn: | Cotton, hand-spun, medium | | Technique: | Warp ikat | | Panels: | 1 | | Size: | 45 x 200 cm (1' 5" x 6' 6") LW: 4.44 | | Weight: | 250 g (8.8 oz), 278 g/m2 (0.91 oz/ft2) | | Design: | Marianne van Vuuren remarks: 'Here again we see on display the Tanimbarese weavers' ability to create very clear motifs, even on longer cloths. The motifs themselves are not unknown on Tanimbar. I have seen the mirrored human figures before, but not often. The motifs with their inward curls [called keu in Lautém in East Timor, tH] were depicted in Ikat from Tanimbar in Fig. 3 on p. 162. Note that the snake motifs - in themselves common, symbolic of courage while also serving to protect the wearer form snake bites - have heads, which is distinctly uncommon. The dating meshes with developments in the ikat of Tanimbar during that period, which from circa 1900 began to blossom - partly caused by the discovery that cloth with T-motifs were popular, particularly in New Guinea. | | Comment: | [PHOTOGRAPHY PROVISIONAL] Van Vuuren: 'The cloth may have been a shawl, a headdress or a sinune (breast cloth) though during that period the use of the latter was beginning to recede. The fact that it looks similar to the Leti cloth PC 248 is not at all unusual. Tanimbar weavers were very open to influences from other islands.' The condition of the textile reflects use for a very long time, with many thin spots and small holes. But because was so clearly designed as finery, this hardly distracts from its presence. The cloth radiates confidence - rooted in technical superiority. The weaver had good control of seepage, which resulted in the sharp drawing we know from Tanimbar's better weavers. Also note the low specific weight, which evinces that the dyer span uncommonly fine yarn, which again supports clarity of drawing. The third micro-image shows a pinstripe in double-ply commercial cotton running in between the hand-spun of the field. | | Background: | Chapters on Moluccas and Tanimbar. | | Compare: | 248 | | Sources: | Van Vuuren, Ikat from Tanimbar, referenced above. The theme of snake motifs serving as protection is elaborated on p. 132. The motif with inward curls is shown on p. 162, FIg. 3 and also on p. 162, Fig. 17. Referenced in ten Hoopen, Ikat from Timor and its Outer Islands, 2022, as an example of the 'pictorial style'. | | |
©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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