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045 Flores Group, Lio
Lawo (sarong)
| Locale: | Nggela or a neighbouring village | Period: | 1950 | Yarn: | Cotton, commercial, fine | Technique: | Warp ikat | Panels: | 2 | Size: | 74 x 166 cm (2' 5" x 5' 5") LW: 2.24 | Design: | Lawo mogha in morinda red, indigo and morinda overdyed with indigo. Field and widest ikat band decorated with patola-inspired patterns. Second widest band, foko, includes a taboo diamond pattern, mata bili, reported to represent the vulva, symbol of fertility, which may only be used by qualified, mature women. | Comment: | Impressive, and large, sarong with intricate patterning in extremely fine ikat: some elements are only three [sic!] threads wide. Ex collection Pamela Cross. The mata bili pattern is similar to the pattern called buffalo eye (Ind. mata kerbau) in Kodi, West Sumba. It is unclear if there is any relationship between the two. The cloth has a soft, oft washed feel. A rare piece with a few tiny spots of wear, but overall in very good condition. | Background: | Chapters on Flores Group and Lio. | Exhibited: | Museu do Oriente, Lisbon, 2014/15 | Published: | Woven Languages, 2014. | Compare: | 099 082 203 022 086 | Sources: | Nearly identical sarong in Hamilton, Gift of the Cotton Maiden, Fig. 10-8. | |
©Peter ten Hoopen, 2024 All rights reserved.
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