ONLINE MUSEUM OF INDONESIAN IKAT TEXTILES
CURATOR: Dr PETER TEN HOOPEN BROWSE FROM:
Notes on datingDating is a sensitive issue, as Indonesian textiles are notoriously hard to date - and in a few cases even hard to place. Our dating is informed by comparison with cognates of ascertained or probable age; by technical aspects such as type of fibre, hand spun yarn versus machines spun (determined by microscopy), and natural versus synthetic dyes; by stylistic aspects such as presence or absence of borders, number of ikated bands, palette preferences; provenance (e.g. dealer records, old German collection, Dutch attic clearance); condition correlated with intended use, an important consideration as ceremonial cloth which is harly ever used can look deceptively young, and a workaday sarong deceptively old after just a few years; where indigo is the dominant tone the presence or absence of skatol in its smell; and several other criteria. The dating is informed by hands-on consultation sessions with one of the world's leading experts - which cynics would say amounts to ecucated guessing squared, but really amounts to stereoscopy, hence more depth. Where we do use a concrete year, like 1930, you are to interpret it as the midpoint of a range with about a decade on either side. All given sizes refer to the body of the cloth, exclusive of any fringes.We strive to provide references to pieces in literature and museum collections for all cloths, annotating the degree of similarity; sometimes using them to undergird our statements regarding motif, origin or dating. Where possible we provide multiple references; this to facilitate scholarly use of the material in our collection. If you notice errors, or can contribute knowledge on certain cloths, e.g. more specific information on origin, tribe, pattern, or tradition, please click on the 'ADD NOTE' button at the bottom right hand corner of the respective page. |
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