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361 Sumba, East Sumba
Hinggi (men's blanket) 
| | Locale: | Kambera | | Period: | Early 20th c. | | Yarn: | Cotton, hand-spun, very fine, double-ply | | Technique: | Warp ikat | | Panels: | 2 | | Size: | 161 x 247 cm (5' 3" x 8' 1") LW: 1.53 | | Weight: | 790 g (27.9 oz), 199 g/m2 (0.65 oz/ft2) | | Design: | All motifs except one belong to the traditional pre-war Sumbanese repertoire. Note that the horses are depicted with their sexual equipment in erection, an extremely uncommon feature, sangat langka. The renowned Balinese dealer and collector Kinga Lauren, checked his entire stock of hundreds of hinggi plus his image database and found only two other examples of stallions with penises, both from the noble family Hangga Roru of Rende. What the stallions' erections signify is unknown, virility being the obvious association. The centrefield was inspired by patola of the Vohra Gaji Bhat design. The cloth is a true 'lima varna' hinggi, with yellow touches ikated, not daubed in after the weaving. This underscores its noble nature. | | Comment: | Note the very low specific weight, which is typical for a certain category of early 20th century high class hinggi. The low specific weight is the result of the use of very fine hand-spun cotton - which of course means that the weaver required more warp yarns to achieve the same width - which in this case is very generous, roughly 25% wider than the average hinggi. The large size, the very low specific weight and the patterning all point to manufacture in a noble family. | | Background: | Chapters on Sumba and East Sumba. | | Published: | Ikat from Timor and its Outer Islands, 2022.
Noble Virtuosity: Hidden Asymmetry in Ikat from Sumba, 2024. | | Compare: | 044 | | |
©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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