TAPIS - CEREMONIAL WOMAN SARONG

Cotton, gold thread, couched embroidery.
Indonesia, Southern Sumatra, Lampung province, first half of the 20th cent.
Indonesian textiles are one of the strengths of The Asia and Pacific Museum collection. It possesses over 450 textiles, i.e. batiks from Java, ikats from Flores, Sumba and Bali, tapis and songkets from Sumatra and many more.
Tapis is a stripped sarong - tube skirt embroidered with a gold thread. This heavy and shining textile was a symbol of prestige and welfare. It was embroidered by a young girl before her wedding as a cloth for the most important moments of her adult life. In geometrical patters influences of Islam could be seen.

MAP 8090, acquired in 1984.