Material: Cotton
Style: Lampung, South Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 66 cm, Width 40 cm
Order Number: MHSST1

South Sumatra has one of the most splendid and diverse textile traditions in Indonesia. The Paminggir people, who date back to the early 15th century,  were strictly hierarchical. Status was displayed by ownership and use of certain textiles. They practised ancestor worship. The ship motif on their ritual textiles was common, symbolising safe transport in their rites of passage ceremonies.

There are three main ship cloths, depending on their size and use: small square tampan, tatibin and the long rectangular palepai. Weavers copied the patterns from old pieces.

The palepai were only used by aristocrats along the south coast. They were hung behind the family on the wall during ceremonies or council meetings. They were not used in gift exchanges and stayed with the families.

Tampans were used during rites of passage. They were highly valued textiles used in ceremonial gifts of exchange. Patterns could be highly abstract. Sometimes there are ships, sometimes carrying animals.

These textiles ceased to be made by the beginning of the 20th century, possibly because of the decline of the pepper trade in South Sumatra, as well as the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which killed thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands of Javanese migrated during the 20th century, which reduced the original Lampung population by 90%.

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Sumatra.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post 44. Sumatran Tampan 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 49 cm, Width 46 cm
Order Number: MHSST2

South Sumatra has one of the most splendid and diverse textile traditions in Indonesia. The Paminggir people, who date back to the early 15th century,  were strictly hierarchical. Status was displayed by ownership and use of certain textiles. They practised ancestor worship. The ship motif on their ritual textiles was common, symbolising safe transport in their rites of passage ceremonies.

There are three main ship cloths, depending on their size and use: small square tampan, tatibin and the long rectangular palepai. Weavers copied the patterns from old pieces.

The palepai were only used by aristocrats along the south coast. They were hung behind the family on the wall during ceremonies or council meetings. They were not used in gift exchanges and stayed with the families.

Tampans were used during rites of passage. They were highly valued textiles used in ceremonial gifts of exchange. Patterns could be highly abstract. Sometimes there are ships, sometimes carrying animals.

These textiles ceased to be made by the beginning of the 20th century, possibly because of the decline of the pepper trade in South Sumatra, as well as the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which killed thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands of Javanese migrated during the 20th century, which reduced the original Lampung population by 90%.

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Sumatra.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post 45. Sumatran Tampan 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 65 cm, Width 59 cm
Order Number: MHSST3

South Sumatra has one of the most splendid and diverse textile traditions in Indonesia. The Paminggir people, who date back to the early 15th century,  were strictly hierarchical. Status was displayed by ownership and use of certain textiles. They practised ancestor worship. The ship motif on their ritual textiles was common, symbolising safe transport in their rites of passage ceremonies.

There are three main ship cloths, depending on their size and use: small square tampan, tatibin and the long rectangular palepai. Weavers copied the patterns from old pieces.

The palepai were only used by aristocrats along the south coast. They were hung behind the family on the wall during ceremonies or council meetings. They were not used in gift exchanges and stayed with the families.

Tampans were used during rites of passage. They were highly valued textiles used in ceremonial gifts of exchange. Patterns could be highly abstract. Sometimes there are ships, sometimes carrying animals.

These textiles ceased to be made by the beginning of the 20th century, possibly because of the decline of the pepper trade in South Sumatra, as well as the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which killed thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands of Javanese migrated during the 20th century, which reduced the original Lampung population by 90%.

There is a hole.

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Sumatra.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post 46. Sumatran Tampan 3 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: Lampung, South Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 77 cm, Width 71 cm
Order Number: MHSST4

South Sumatra has one of the most splendid and diverse textile traditions in Indonesia. The Paminggir people, who date back to the early 15th century,  were strictly hierarchical. Status was displayed by ownership and use of certain textiles. They practised ancestor worship. The ship motif on their ritual textiles was common, symbolising safe transport in their rites of passage ceremonies.

There are three main ship cloths, depending on their size and use: small square tampan, tatibin and the long rectangular palepai. Weavers copied the patterns from old pieces.

The palepai were only used by aristocrats along the south coast. They were hung behind the family on the wall during ceremonies or council meetings. They were not used in gift exchanges and stayed with the families.

Tampans were used during rites of passage. They were highly valued textiles used in ceremonial gifts of exchange. Patterns could be highly abstract. Sometimes there are ships, sometimes carrying animals.

These textiles ceased to be made by the beginning of the 20th century, possibly because of the decline of the pepper trade in South Sumatra, as well as the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which killed thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands of Javanese migrated during the 20th century, which reduced the original Lampung population by 90%.

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Sumatra.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post 47. Sumatran Tampan 4 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Pineapple fibre, silk, natural dyes
Style: Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 84 cm, Width 82 cm
Order Number: MHSSSH1

South Sumatra has one of the most splendid and diverse textile traditions in Indonesia.

Men’s headcloths, ikat kepala, were especially decorative. They were worn as both formal and informal attire. They are tied in a variety of ways which indicate status, ethnic origin or just fashion.

Hand woven, hand embroidered.

There’s a photo of an ikat kepala from the Australian National Gallery in Textiles of Southeast Asia, Tradition, Trade and Transformation, Robyn Maxwell, Periplus Editions, 2003, page 311. 

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Sumatra.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post 53. Sumatran Headcloth appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: Kalimantan, Indonesia
Size: Length 203 cm, Width 102 cm
Order Number: MHSKD1

Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was divided between the colonial powers of Britain (the northern half) and the Dutch (the southern 2/3rds) until Independence was declared in 1945.

Borneo’s women wove the textiles. The island’s indigenous people, the Dayak, comprise about 20 cultural groups, and compete for prestige. They arrived about 40,000 years ago.

Most Dayaks live in longhouses on raised pilings under a single roof, which protect them from rivers flooding, animals and enemy attacks.

Warfare was widespread and a Dayak man’s status was measured by his ability in war and headhunting. Enemy heads were believed to rejuvenate agricultural land and human fertility.

Borneo’s textiles are amongst the most unique and fascinating in the world. Most Dayak textiles were worn during ceremonies – skirts, headgear, loincloths, vests and jackets.

The Iban are the largest and most artistically influential group producing striking, sacred textiles, which were typically deep red made from morinda citrofolia roots. They created large cloths called pua, which means ‘blanket’ or ‘covering’ .

Pua were worn, displayed and used in all major ceremonies and festivals, called gwai. They showed the weavers’ skill and attracted the gods by their beauty.

They were hung up to create temporary sacred spaces and give protection. Before going to war men slept in a pua. After a successful raid, women waited for their men at the longhouse entrance holding pua to receive the heads.

Early 20th century.

Map of Kalimantan.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post 60. Kalimantan Dayak Blanket appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: Kalimantan, Indonesia
Size: Length 258 cm, Width 130 cm
Order Number: MHSKT1

Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was divided between the colonial powers of Britain (the northern half) and the Dutch (the southern 2/3rds) until Independence was declared in 1945.

Borneo’s women wove the textiles. The island’s indigenous people, the Dayak, comprise about 20 cultural groups, and compete for prestige. They arrived about 40,000 years ago.

Most Dayaks live in longhouses on raised pilings under a single roof, which protect them from rivers flooding, animals and enemy attacks.

Warfare was widespread and a Dayak man’s status was measured by his ability in war and headhunting. Enemy heads were believed to rejuvenate agricultural land and human fertility.

Borneo’s textiles are amongst the most unique and fascinating in the world. Most Dayak textiles were worn during ceremonies – skirts, headgear, loincloths, vests and jackets.

The Iban are the largest and most artistically influential group producing striking, sacred textiles, which were typically deep red made from morinda citrofolia roots. They created large cloths called pua, which means ‘blanket’ or ‘covering’ .

Pua were worn, displayed and used in all major ceremonies and festivals, called gwai. They showed the weavers’ skill and attracted the gods by their beauty.

They were hung up to create temporary sacred spaces and give protection. Before going to war men slept in a pua. After a successful raid, women waited for their men at the longhouse entrance holding pua to receive the heads.

20th century.

Map of Kalimantan.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post 69. Kalimantan Textile appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: Bukhara, Uzbekistan 
Size:  Height 137 cm, Width 78 cm
Order Number: MHSATG2

Bukhara  is a city in Uzbekistan located on the Silk Road. People have lived in the area around Bukhara for at least 5,000 years and the city has existed for 2,500 years. Bukhara has long served as a centre of trade, scholarship, culture and religion.

This would be a traditional robe of honour, a loose coat of padded cotton,  called a chapan for an Uzbek ruler to present to a guest or courtier.

About 50-60 years old.

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Material: Cotton
Style: Russian
Size:  Length 341 cm, Width 83 cm
Order Number: MHSACARC1

During the 19th century industrialisation of the Russian textile industry flooded the Central Asian market.

Russian printed cotton cloth is found in the ethnic dress and household textiles of the eastern reaches of the Russian Empire, particularly Uzbekistan and other areas of Central Asia. Great quantities were also sold to Mongolia, Afghanistan, Persia and China.

Linings of central Asian textiles were also made from Russian printed cottons with their striking floral and paisley designs. Some prints were specially designed incorporating Arabic letters and featuring green. It is said that green was Mohammed’s favourite colour. He was said to have worn a green cloak and turban and his writings are full of references to green. The Quran describes paradise as a place where people ‘will wear green garments of fine silk’.

The paisley pattern uses the Persian  botah motif, a teardrop-shaped motif with a curved upper end and a version of the ‘tree of life’. It became popular in the West in the 18th and 19th centuries, following imports from India, especially Kashmir shawls, which were introduced by the The British East India Company to England and Scotland where they were extremely fashionable. The name comes from the town of Paisley in west Scotland, a textile centre where paisley designs were produced.

19th – early 20th century.

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Material: Cotton, sequins
Style: Gujarat, India
Size: Height 28 cm, Length 90 cm
Order Number: MHSAIDOW1

Called a toran, these decorations were unique to every household and handmade by the women of the house. The good ones indicate the owner’s wealth and have many mirrors to reflect specks of light and lots of different colours. This is because the walls were made of mud. They are believed to bring good spirits to the home and remove evil spirits and used especially during festivals, celebrations, weddings and parties.

Early – mid 20th century.

Map of Gujarat.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Indian Door or Wallhanging appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: Coromandel Coast, India
Size: Height 203 cm, Length 113 cm
Order Number: MHSAIP1

India has been famous from earliest times as a centre for high quality, colourful, fine cotton weaving, as well as a major centre of international trade, especially spices and other luxuries. The two, textiles and trade, are inextricably linked. India’s textiles were in high demand from the Mediterranean to China, including Indonesia, especially Sumatra, Sulawesi, Buton, the Moluccas, and Timor, Thailand and Iran. They  were famous for their colours and fastness of dyes.

There are records in 1508 of Indian textiles in Lisbon. They dominated the textile markets of Asia, where they were used  as a medium of exchange to barter for cloves, pepper and other spices, even after the introduction of money.  In Indonesia, for example, textiles were worn as indicators of rank, prestige and status and were central in religious ceremonies, especially rites of passage, birth, marriage and death. They were exchanged at weddings to bind families together. Some had healing properties. Royalty presented them as gifts to important visitors.

Those kept were prized family heirlooms, stored in the rafters of ancestral houses in rattan baskets, and only used on special occasions, thereby preserving them somewhat. When Indian textiles became scarce or too expensive, their designs were incorporated into local textiles, using ikat or batik.

By the late 17th century Indian textiles were the leading commodities at Persian Gulf ports. Textiles came from the west coast, in particular, Surat, but from the 17th century also the Coromandel Coast on the east coast. There was a steady trade in Persian market palampores from the port of Masulipatam, the main port of the kingdom of Golconda.

This textile is a palampore (from palang-posh bed cover), a hand-painted ceremonial hanging or bed cover that was made in India for the Iranian export market during the 18th century and very early 19th century. Only the wealthiest classes could afford to buy them. The few examples that have survived are very valuable.

A palampore was made using the kalamkari technique. The artist drew designs with a kalam pen on cotton containing mordant and then dipped the textile in dye. The dye only attached to the cloth where the mordant had been applied. The process was repeated for every color. Small details were painted by hand on the cloth after the dying process was finished. It has similarities to Indonesian batik.

Palampore patterns were usually elaborate and complex, depicting a tree, flowers, plants, animals, peacocks, tigers, elephants, deer and horses. Many are seen in this example. The flowering tree is a cypress. It is less exuberant than the trees for the Indonesian market and more in keeping with Persian taste. There is Arabic writing at the top: Khadem Mohammed Hussain, the name of the owner of the textile.

The tree is the Tree of Life, a universal symbol, with roots in the underworld and branches in heaven. It features among the most ancient cultures on earth. Indian trade textiles depicting the Tree of Life were immediately recognisable by their trading partners.

Palampore were primarily exported to Iran, but also in considerable quantities in the more flamboyant style to the Dutch in Indonesia, Ceylon and Europe. The Toraja people of central Sulawesi used Indian textiles in their rituals and ceremonies and adopted the flowering tree into their own designs.

The most comprehensive Indian textile collection in the world is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

There is an example from the Victoria and Albert Museum in Woven Cargoes, Indian Textiles in the East, John Guy, Thames and Hudson, 1998, page 50.

18th – early 19th century.

Map of Coromandel Coast.

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Material: Cotton
Style: India
Size: Length 188 cm, Width 107 cm
Order Number: MHSAITT1

Handpainted.

19th – early 20th century.

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The post Antique Indian Temple Textile 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: India
Size: Length 279 cm, Width 183 cm
Order Number: MHSAITT2

Handpainted. There are some holes.

19th – early 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Indian Temple Textile 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton
Style: Kalimantan, Indonesia
Size: Length 114 cm, Width 82  cm
Order Number: MHSAKS1

Dayak is the name applied to a number of very different peoples  living on the island of Kalimantan, but also elsewhere. They share some common characteristics. They live in longhouses, situated mostly on navigable rivers. They were rice farmers, living simple lives, but staging large religious ceremonies, which involved large feasts.

Kalimantan sits on the equator, so little clothing is necessary. Everyday Dayak clothing consisted of a loincloth for men and a short skirt or two apron-skirts for women. Inside they wore a headband and outside a hat. Both men and women wore a jacket for semi-formal events. Children were mostly naked, but girls may have worn a modesty plaque suspended from a string.

In contrast to these plain clothes ceremonial costumes, lavishly ornamented with animal claws, feathers and teeth, and feathers, silver and beads were worn.

This is the skirt that goes with Antique Kalimantan Jacket 1

Early 20th century.

Map of Kalimantan.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Kalimantan Skirt 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton, beads, sequins
Style: Kalimantan, Indonesia
Size: Height 53 cm, Width 40  cm
Order Number: MHSAKS2

Dayak is the name applied to a number of very different peoples  living on the island of Kalimantan, but also elsewhere. They share some common characteristics. They live in longhouses, situated mostly on navigable rivers. They were rice farmers, living simple lives, but staging large religious ceremonies, which involved large feasts.

Kalimantan sits on the equator, so little clothing is necessary. Everyday Dayak clothing consisted of a loincloth for men and a short skirt or two apron-skirts for women. Inside they wore a headband and outside a hat. Both men and women wore a jacket for semi-formal events. Children were mostly naked, but girls may have worn a modesty plaque suspended from a string.

In contrast to these plain clothes ceremonial costumes, lavishly ornamented with animal claws, feathers and teeth, and feathers, silver and beads were worn.

Early – mid 20th century.

Map of Kalimantan.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Kalimantan Skirt 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bark cloth lining, beads
Style: Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Size:  Height 56 cm, Width 88 cm (arm to arm)
Order Number: MHSASLT1

Plant fibres and leaves have been used to make clothes from Neolithic times and isolated Southeast Asian groups in Burma, the islands of Enggano and Mentawai off the west coast of Sumatra, and Luzon, Palawan and Mindanao in the Philippines, were wearing them into the 20th century. In some places they are still used as ritual clothing, for example in the island of Buru in Indonesia, by shamans in Borneo and dancers in some Bali Aga villages in Bali. Many of the groups were nomadic hunters, but when they settled down to agriculture used thread and cloth.

The use of bark cloth (nunu) has largely disappeared now, but continues to be used in the northern parts of central Sulawesi for delicate ceremonial garments and sturdy everyday clothes for women. Originally tunics for Sulawesi women were  made from bark cloth and later were made from cotton and bark cloth retained as a lining.

The ladies tunic is from the Kaili people of Central Sulawesi. The motif from the north-west region of central Sulawesi is the petondu, the buffalo motif depicted as a diamond or star with curling embroidered points, resembling a buffalo’s horns. Buffalos are prized in Sulawesi.

There is a small restoration under the arm.

There is a similar example from the Australian National Gallery in Textiles of Southeast Asia, Tradition, Trade and Transformation, Robyn Maxwell, Periplus Editions, 2003, page 40.

19th century.

Map of Sulawesi.

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The post Antique Sulawesi Ladies Tunic appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton, sequins
Style: Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Height 43 cm, Length 320 cm
Order Number: MHSASCW1

Similar to a toran in India, these decorations were unique to every household and handmade by the women of the house. The good ones indicate the owner’s wealth and have many mirrors to reflect specks of light and lots of different colours. They are believed to bring good spirits to the home and remove evil spirits and used especially during festivals, celebrations, and weddings.

Early – mid 20th century.

Map of Sumatra.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Sumatran Ceremonial Tirai Wallhanging appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton, sequins
Style: Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 22 cm, Width 16 cm
Order Number: MHSSASCD10

Probably from Palembang, used as decorations during a ceremony or festival.

Map of Sumatra.

Early – mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Sumatran Cushion Decoration 10 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton, sequins
Style: Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 22 cm, Width 22 cm
Order Number: MHSSASCD11

Probably from Palembang, used as decorations during a ceremony or festival.

Map of Sumatra.

Early – mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Sumatran Cushion Decoration 11 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Cotton, sequins
Style: Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Length 22 cm, Width 16 cm
Order Number: MHSSASCD12

Probably from Palembang, used as decorations during a ceremony or festival.

Map of Sumatra.

Early – mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Sumatran Cushion Decoration 12 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.