IKAT TEXTILES OF THE INDONESIAN ARCHIPELAGO

Ikat Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago Peter ten Hoopen Foreword by Steven G. Alpert Hong Kong University Press, 2018 602 pages, 448 ills. 23.5 x 31 x 6 cm (9.25 x 12.25 x 2.3") ISBN: 978-988-19024-7-4 Price $135 including shipping worldwide Ikat Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago is also available through Amazon, Periplus and HKU Press, but with the free shipping (weight 3.9kg, 8.5 lbs) you are probably better off here. Pay by PayPal, which is the quickest, or by bank transfer. For bulk orders please use Contact page.

Ikat Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago by Peter ten Hoopen, the catalogue of the exhibition 'Fibres of Life' at Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery (2017) offers a comprehensive overview of the profusion of ikat styles found across the Indonesian archipelago, from Sumatra and Borneo in the west till the Moluccas and Timor-Leste in the east.       The concept was to show, not just individual masterpieces — though many are encountered — but the culture of the ‘ikat archipelago’. This is done by close-reading of over two hundred early emblematic examples from the author's 'Pusaka Collection', most of them early, and by introducing us to the living conditions, beliefs and customs of the various peoples who have created and used them.       The author’s ethnographic approach to collecting allows us to see to where the styles from neighbouring island regions are interwoven — reflecting migration, bridal exchanges, trade and raiding patterns — and where they stand out by individuality. It also allow us to study, not just the people’s finery, but equally their everyday clothing.       Ikat Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago was created with the collegial assistence of a dozen region-specific scholars who were inspired by the ambition to create such a long-needed work of reference. Though it represents one man's life's work, the book was also a communal effort. It was made possible thanks to all those who supplied information that, in many cases, only they could have provided, and by numerous donations of usage rights by museums, ethnographers and photographers.       While building on the literature of the 'golden years' of ikat research, Ikat Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago offers numerous new additions to the knowledge base, including information on the ikat of a dozen islands and regions not described before.