Asian Textiles: Textiles of Indonesia
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Waist Cloth (Lau Kombu) with Figures, Birds, and Stripes, Sumba, Indonesia, Mid-20th century
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 13
July 9, 2024 (Tue) - September 29, 2024 (Sun)This gallery currently features the many striking textile techniques of the islands of Indonesia, with special emphasis on batik, a wax-resist dying technique. There are two techniques to make batik cloth. One is to draw patterns of beeswax lines directly on cotton cloth using a tool called a canting. The other is to stamp repeating patterns onto cotton cloth using a beeswax-coated copper stamp called a cap. Once the designs are marked in beeswax, the cloth is dipped in indigo blue, madder red, or sogan brown dye and only the wax-covered portions remain white. In addition to batik cloths, this gallery is also displaying Indonesian textiles for use in celebratory ceremonies featuring warp ikat, glittering songket (supplementary weft patterning in metallic threads), and brocade.
| Designation | Name | Creation/ Excavation/ Provenance |
Period | Acquisition/ Ownership/ Accession Number |
CMT | ||
| Highlight | Formal Waist Cloth ("Dodot") with Garuda | Central Java, Indonesia | 19th century | TI-280 | |||
| Highlight | Ceremonial Cloth ("Palepai") with Figures on Boats | Krui, Sumatra, Indonesia | 19th–20th century | TI-511 | |||
| Highlight | Waist Cloth ("Lau Kombu") with Figures, Birds, and Stripes | Sumba, Indonesia | Mid-20th century | TI-356 |