tribaltextiles.info

I would like to share with forum members some of my own excitement at the imminent publication of forum member Sandra A Niessen's magnus opus on the Batak textiles of Indonesia 'Legacy in Cloth'. I was fortunate to meet Sandra three years ago when I was seeking help for my own research into Batak textiles at the time of 'Woven Worlds' the exhibition of Batak cloths that she curated at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam in 2006 (see below). Since then I have been privileged to share in the trials, tribulations and excitement of getting the manuscript to the printers. I set out below some publicity information about the book and, just to tantalise you and to prove that the book really is about to arrive, I attach a photo of 4-page spreads from the book stacked up on pallets at the printers in the Netherlands.


LEGACY IN CLOTH: Batak textiles of Indonesia

Situated along the trade routes between South Asia and the Far East, the Indonesian archipelago has encountered outside cultures for millennia. The mountainous interior of northern Sumatra, isolated from the port settlements, experienced rapid change only after colonial annexation at the turn of the twentieth century. Since then, innovative Batak weavers from the Lake Toba region have successfully adapted their art to new economic and social circumstances, but at great cost. In recent decades, weaving has fallen into decline and the tradition is threatened, while at the same time Batak textiles are highly prized in museum collections around the world.

Legacy in Cloth offers the first definitive study of the woven heritage of the Toba, Simalungun, and Karo Batak. The most complete analysis of Batak textiles ever published, it provides a record of more than 100 different design types, including archival and contemporary photographs showing how the textiles are woven and how they are used in Batak culture.

Legacy in Cloth benefits from fieldwork conducted over two decades and consultation of all major European collections of Batak textiles and private collections in Indonesia.

Lavishly illustrated in full colour, Legacy in Cloth is destined to be a classic in the world of international textiles

Sandra Niessen is an anthropologist based in the Netherlands. Until 2003, she taught in the Department of Human Ecology at the University of Alberta, where she specialized in textile traditions around the world and sustainable lifestyles. She holds a Ph.D. from Leiden University; her dissertation was published as Motifs of Life in Toba Batak Texts and Textiles. Since 1979, she has been studying the Batak culture of northern Sumatra. In addition to numerous articles about Batak textiles, she has also published Batak Cloth and Clothing: A Dynamic Indonesian Tradition (Oxford University Press, 1993). In 2006, she curated Woven Worlds, an exhibition on the history of Batak textile collecting by the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam.

Publication date: May 2009, Publisher: KITLV Press http://www.kitlv.nl/book/show/1262
Hardcover, 228mm x 291mm, 568 pages, Full colour
ISBN 978 90 6718 351 2
Price € 54.90

The book is nearly 3 Kilos in weight so postage reflects this:
Postage: Outside Europe 34.20 euro
In Europe but outside EU 25 euro
In Europe and inside EU 19.50 euro


I am looking forward very much to receiving my own copy later this month. Watch this space!!!

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Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

'Legacy in cloth' was duly launched in Amsterdam in the private theatre (Soeterijn Theater) within the Tropenmuseum on Friday afternoon, 15 May 2009. Sandra had arranged for a group of Batak dancers led by Paul Hutagalung to get the event off with a flourish and also to 'invite' the speakers onto the stage and bless them by wrapping them in ulos. Lejo Schenk, Director of the Tropenmuseum started off and said some lovely, and very well deserved things about Sandra and the book. He described 'Legacy in cloth; as "a bible that everybody who does Indonesian textile studies in the future will have to refer to." It was Lejo's belief in Sandra's book that made it possible to launch it in the Tropenmuseum.

I attach a couple of photos to give you the atmosphere. In the first photo Sandra is surrounded by the dancers and the photo is courtesy of them. The second photo, courtesy Diccon Pullen, shows, after we had been presented by first copies of the book - running from left to right - Sandra; Dr Harry Poeze, Head of KITLV Press; Mr F.X. Widiyarso, Third Secretary, Information and Socio Cultural Affairs - from the Indonesian Embassy in the Netherlands; Lesley Pullen, forum member, receiving a first copy of the book on behalf of Threads of Life; and then yours truly. Note that Harry is wrapped in a very nice ragidup from the Silindung valley. Sandra had selected this ulos for him as he has only recently become a grandfather and Toba Batak adat rules that such a cloth should only be worn by a grandparent. Harry was very proud of it and its status and had this lovely grin on his face wearing it - Sandra made a gift of it to him. I am wearing around my shoulders a very fine ulos na marpisoran 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. As it happens, Paul Hutagalung, the leader of the dance troupe, came originally from this same village of Huta Harean.

After the formal part of the programme we repaired to the Soeterijn Café beside the theatre in the Tropenmuseum for drinks and (tasty!) hot nibbles. It was lovely seeing Sandra surrounded by so many friends and supporters. All the books brought to the launch were sold before I got my wits together to go to the table where they had been on offer.

_________________
Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

just to finish up with the book cover...

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Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

Congratulations to Sandra!!! And what a wonderful launch for her masterwork! No doubt she was elated to see the manifestation of all her hard work, and the world will be the richer for it.

I have gone to the KITLV website link which Pamela so kindly provided, and was able to order the book easily. They also feature a sample chapter, including the introduction, which nicely whet my appetite for the volume when it arrives. I can't wait!

Well, my copy of Legacy in Cloth arrived recently and it was more than worth the wait! It is indeed the definitive work on the rich textile tradition of the Batak. At almost 3kg. and over two inches thick, it is packed with informative photographs and text, and enough details to satisfy any inquiring mind. It has also set a new standard for books on textiles: thorough discussions of design, history, and techniques are supplemented with a large catalogue of examples; two additional colors of text are used for reference to textile names and catalogue numbers, as well as sources; and the layout and design is very handsome, with excellent photography and printing. That this volume is the result of many years of work is obvious, and we are the very fortunate beneficiaries of Sandra's passion and diligence. I cannot thank her enough for it!

Just to let you all know that copies of Legacy in cloth: Batak textiles of Indonesia can be obtained direct from Sandra Niessen. Sandra may be contacted via her (new) website and the contact form there. http://www.bataktextiles.com/contact.html

Also see more background information on the book at http://www.bataktextiles.com/projects/Legacy.html and Sandra's personal statement about how she became caught up in the magic of Batak weaving http://www.bataktextiles.com/cv/biography.html

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Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

I have just received the Nov 09 booklist for Select Books in Singapore and I see that they have Legacy in cloth on the list. I always head for Select Books when I am in Sinagpore especially as they are located in the Tanglin Shopping Centre with interesting galleries some of which carry textiles.

Select Books Pte Ltd
19 Tanglin Road #03-15
Tanglin Shopping Centre
Singapore 247909
Tel: 65-67321515
Fax: 65-67360855

_________________
Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource