tribaltextiles.info

Speaking of Indonesian textiles...

here are two ikats that I bought in Java, but was told come from Flores. I'd be interested to know from forum members who know Indonesian textiles whether that attribution is correct... and any thoughts on what the motifs are.

One is a sarong with indigo ground cloth, warp ikat bands interspersed with warp patterned stripes. Made in 2 sections with most of the patterning on the central section. The second is a blanket made up of two widths of ikat patterned and warp-patterned stripes joined together. Both the sarong and the blanket are about 1.5meters long.

(with that and the Sumba item I posted some time ago forum members now have access to my entire collection of old Indonesian textiles to date!)

Chris

Chris

I don't think this answers your question but I have been looking at this page today on the main tti site http://www.tribaltextiles.info/articles ... _notes.htm - some travel notes by Donna Lum on a visit to Flores with photos taken on her trip in June 2005. (I see that I omitted to put the date of her visit in the notes so must amend. I always feel it is important to know 'when' re textiles being made and worn.)

Best,

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Pamela

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

Chris, I don't think your textiles are from Flores but rather from central Timor. The large, plain endfields in the sarong (tais) are typical of central Timor. Sarongs from Flores usually have overall patterns.

Many Timor sarongs are three panel (nai telu) or even four panels (nai empat) especially for ceremonial sarongs and sarongs used as HARGA BELIS or female goods given in wedding exchange. You said your sarong was two panels. Is the seam off center? It is hard to tell in the photos where the join is. Normally the main ikat band and the stripes on either side of it would be a central panel with a plain panel on either side of it.

The motifs in the tais look like crocodiles and those in the BETI (hip/shoulder cloth) seem to be birds. Both are common motifs in Timor and rather rare in Flores textiles which tend to be geometric and patola influenced. The intricate vertical stripes in the beti are also typical of Timor. Commercial thread is often used for the ikat patterns and usually double warped in the weaving. Handspun thread in lovely natural colors is often used for the plain stripes which are usually single warp.

I think the minor ikat bands dyed red in the tais are unusual as I don't remember seeing many ikat motifs with red backgrounds in Timor. A beautiful touch to a lovely tais.

Best Regards, MAC

I pose a possible identification of these two ikats. Firstly the small shoulder cloth could be from Savu, called a Hi'i mea is a spritual cloth used by priests. See Ikats of Savu by Duggan G Pg 143/144.
The sarong could be from Lamelara in Lembata, or from Larantuka in the extreme east of Flores. This is a very unusual piece, mainly because of its layout in 2 sections with the plain bands of indigo at each end. Almost every sarong from Flores and Lembata have the full sarong patterned in ikat and would be 3-4 panels long.
I agree with Mac that the motifs speak more of Timor, but I do not feel either of these pieces come from W Timor.

Still somewhat of a mystery I fear, always hard to really tell if you cannot handle the piece or have a large clear photo
Lesley

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Lesley Pullen, London

thanks Lesley and MAC, very interesting comments and lots to think about. The storekeepers who sold me those pieces could not tell me much (the blanket was being used as a deckchair cover and the owner seemed surprised that I was interested in it).

Sorry, I wrote that the sarong was 2 panels but it is in fact 3 (a central ikat panel and two adjoined panels with plain indigo, aside from a decorative band at each end with a "honeycomb" motif.

Pamela - I saw the article you mentioned and found it very interesting and useful.

I am planning to visit Flores in late August and hoping to see some warp ikat dyeing while I am there. If I get some good photos I will send them to Pamela with some notes. The area that Lesley mentions (Larantuka) is on my list of places to go to, transport permitting.

Chris
You should also visit the Maumere region and go to Watublapi to the Bliran Sina Co-Operative,and then to the Lio/Ende region to Ndona/Onelako village to visit the Bau Sama Sama Co-Operative. Try and visit the Niowala textile market about 1hr drive from Moni, on the road between the two areas. I have never been to Larantuka, what fun, take some good pictures and post a textile or two when you return. Flores is tough travelling and very few if any decent places to stay, so be prepared!
Have Fun, Lesley

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Lesley Pullen, London

Hi Chris

Check out the Threads of Life website section on Flores before you go http://www.threadsoflife.com/textile.as ... oresisland I think the weaving cooperatives that Lesley mentions are likely to be within their supporting umbrella (as it were!) There are some nice background notes from the web link.

Yes, please, please send me some 'travel notes' plus pics when you get back. Donna, just back from Cambodia and Laos, has sent me feedback which is on on my list of 'things to do' to turn into a web travel note page. I will post a link on the forum when it is live.

Have a great visit and may it all slot into place so you manage to see lots (of textile things, of course!!!)

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Pamela

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

Chris, This selimut is not exactly the same as yours but is similar. I collected it at the market in Kefamananu, central Timor, near the border with East Timor. It is handspun and has natural dyes. Note that it has an even number of ikat motif bands (6) as yours does. Almost all Savu shawls and hip cloths have an odd number of ikat bands, from 3 to 9 and the fringes are almost always twisted. I don't remember seeing bird motifs like yours in Savu hip cloths.

What is the size of your cloth? I would think it is somewhat larger than most Savu hip cloths. The stripes between the ikat bands are typical of Timor, especially the lovely multi colors.

Best regards, MAC

HI Chris,
I believe the tube skirt or sarong is from Timor. I bought a pile of these from a Timor runner I worked with in the mid 1980s, all with the same three piece construction, the center panel with ikat motifs, the outer panels plain or with simple ikat bands at each end. The colors were identical. I can't recall the exact area they came from. Eventually, I would come across other similar examples from time to time. If I can find my old notes, I'll repost.

The other piece is a mystery to me. Probably Timor, perhaps Tanimbar or some island in that area. I don't believe it is from Flores.

Regards,
Mark

Hi Chris:

I, too, am pretty sure that the sarong is from Timor.

If I weren't in the middle of moving my textiles to a different closet, I would photograph the one I have, which has very fine ikat in the center panel and bands of supplemental embroidery at the ends. I bought it on Timor in the 1980s and it supposedly belonged to "a grandmother."

I have seen a number of other sarongs from Timor, all with ikat on the central panels.

Hope this helps.
Anna

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Anna

Thanks once more to all of you for your insightful comments on these textiles. I now agree with MAC, Mark and Anna that these are from Timor.

Last year I spent time in the eastern part of Flores and the western half of Timor. I didn't see any textiles exactly like these, but when I stayed in Kupang overnight in the morning there were a bunch of textile sellers outside my losmen (they must have been telepathic, or else tipped off by the losmen owner), including one guy who had some striped textiles very like the red and blue blanket. Garish dyes and lizard motifs, but otherwise very similar. And yes, I think they must be from over the border in the eastern half since I didn't see any more blankets like them during my travels in the west.

Likewise, I didn't see the exact analogue of the tubeskirt, but the tais woven by the Lo'oneke group in the central hills have the same overall layout and feel. Here are photos of a couple of contemporary examples from this area. I like these a lot for their simplicity and the way the ikat is framed by the plain panels. Less is more.

Hi Chris:

Sorry it has taken me so long to photograph and post this - been reorganizing my textile storage. I photoshopped it quickly - and not too successfully - so I could put it up.

I think you can see the relationship to your sarong.

I bought it in NY in the mid-1980s. The seller, who spent a lot of time in Indonesia, said it belonged to the grandmother of the person he bought it from - which could mean it was all of 40 years old at that time, or maybe more.

I hope this helps.

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Anna

That's beautiful Anna, especially the ikat. I think it's Biboki.

I have a couple of Biboki sarongs from my recent trip that are similar, though not quite as nice as that one. They also make lovely beti (wraps for men) with ikat decoration as well. I will dig out the photos and post later.

Here is a tais similar to Anna's, worn by a lady in the Biboki kingdom region of West Timor. It was made by her mother shortly after marriage, for formal wear, making it about the same age as Anne's. It's worn folded over like this so you mostly see the warp-wrapped decorated buna ends rather than the ikat in the middle. There are some similar examples in "Textiles of Western Timor" by RM Yeager and MI Jacobson. I took this photo last summer (2010).

Chris:

That is simply spectacular! I envy you your ownership of that piece. Makes me want to go back to Timor...

Thanks for posting it.

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Anna