ONLINE MUSEUM OF INDONESIAN IKAT TEXTILES
CURATOR: Dr PETER TEN HOOPEN BROWSE FROM:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON PC 032
Comments by Vernon Kedit
Provenance: Paku, Saribas based on the nuanced style.
Date: 1930s. This period saw a proliferation of weaving amongst Saribas women and again, the style fits right into this period.
Warp threads: Machine-made. You simply cannot get such precision on natural spun cotton. Anyway, natural spun cotton had gone out of fashion at the turn of the century when Saribas weavers gained access to machine threads. The weft, I suspect, is very fine natural spun threads. Double ply for strength. Saribas weavers saved up to buy machine threads for their warps (the canvas for their artistry) but didn't mind using the lesser natural spun threads for the hidden weft.
Weft threads: Tripe ply. One weft thread gives a very soft cloth. The standard was two. Triple ply means a heavy cloth which would endure heavy usage. She probably thought she would be using this cloth a lot, and so wove in insurance Colours: All vegetable dyes for the warp and weft. Synthetic dyes for the borders.
Design: The Water Serpent surrounded by water spirits and feed. In the catalogue of Saribas designs, this falls between common designs and 'forbidden' designs. Middle tier, if we need to have classifications.
Weaver: At this point in her weaving as demonstrated by this clorh, she would have been evidently competent but not yet master. The Saribas titular form of addressing her posthumously at this stage of her development as a weaver would have been "indu tau muntang tau nengkebang" or "she who knew how to fold the threads and invent".
Borders: The borders are all synthetically dyed threads. These colours were on the cheaper end of the range of coloured threads available at the time. That the selvedges are narrow confirms that the weaver couldn't afford more threads or the even more expensive brighter colours. The chocolatey brown of the main field is the result of a failed attempt at using morinda to create the deep burgundy so cherished by masters. Again, this indicates said weaver was on her way to becoming a master and was already dyeing with morinda. I bet her next attempt would have been quite a success. A second failed attempt would have been spiritually disastrous for her reputation and her development as a serious weaver in her community. The fuchsia pink outermost selvedge makes an interesting and unexpected appearance. This colour thread was not readily available and considered rare. Read: expensive. She saved up and spent on one of the most expensive coloured threads to give her cloth that touch of nuanced style and class. Smart weaver.
Should anyone doubt this is from the Saribas, here are three definitive indicators:
- The style. The upper and lower edge motifs are quintessentially Saribas, veering towards the Paku taste for linear composition. (Paku is one of two tributaries of the Saribas. Layar is the other.) You cannot get more Saribas in style and patterning than this.
- The conventions. The weaver started her main design with 5 curls along each fold. Saribas weavers ALWAYS keep this convention of starting their designs with either 3, 4 or 5 curls. It indicated their 'level' as weavers. Masters can squeeze in 6. She leaves her two sides of the loop unstitched at both ends. Clearly still of child-bearing age. The composition of the entire design screams Saribas. All these conventions are unique to the Saribas. I have not seen them practiced outside the Saribas.
- The threads. The technique of the use of various threads was based on accessibility to what was available in the market and what was the fashion at the time. This cloth exhibits this Saribas quality unmistakably.
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