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these images
are © and may not be reproduced without the express permission of Pamela
A Cross and Vera Tobing |
click on main photo enlargement to go to Vera Tobing collection photogallery - click on any thumbnails to go to further photo enlargements |
This very fine ulos namarpisoran was woven by Ernestina br.Hutagalung at the end of the first decade of the twentieth century before her marriage when she was living in the village of Huta Harean, one of the villages of the marga (clan) Hutagalung near Tarutung, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra. She would have been around 14-18 years of age in a period of her life before marriage known by the Batak as namarbaju. The ulos measures 174 x 77 cm, excluding fringes.
It has fine warp ikat flashes carefully balanced when the textile was warped up to give a very subtle repeating diamond design in the central panel. Beading of small glass beads is incorporated into a supplementary weft to form strong designs in various colours of beading at both ends of the ulos - see detail below - and also as fine additional decoration on either side of the three supplementary weft bands dividing the length of the ulos. There is thick beading at the start of the fine twining at the very ends of the ulos. The designs of the three supplementary weft bands are based on ancient designs. Similar designs may be found in the decoration on ancient Dong Son drums. It is possible that all the threads for the ulos have been dyed with natural dyes including the soft yellow and red narrow warp stipes in the central field. The central panel of deep blue and the side borders of deep red are very probably of natural dyes - indigo and morinda citrofolia respectively.
I am indebted to Sandra Niessen
for the light shed on this textile in her personal communication on this ulos:
"the Simarpusoran (or pisoran) with beadwork (na
marsimata) was a fad in the colonial era. The sirara na marsimata
are of similar ilk. Simarpusoran are still made, but they are no
longer the rage as they once were. Alas! And that kind of beadwork is also
a fad of the past. The textile is named after its ikat patterning".
ulos in the Vera Tobing collection
photographed by Mari Pro Foto Studio, Jawa Barat Depok |
click
on main photo enlargement to go to Vera Tobing collection photogallery
- click on any thumbnails to go to further photo enlargements
|
Both Pamela and Maria are very grateful indeed for the encouragement and advice which they have received from Sandra Niessen, a leading expert on the Batak and their textiles. See an autobiography and Batak references for more information about Sandra and her publications.
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Copyright © 2012 Pamela A Cross. The contents of this site, including all images and text, are for personal, educational, non-commercial use only and may not be reproduced in any form without the express permission of Pamela A Cross. |
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this
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11 June, 2020
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