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373 Moluccas, Kisar
Cawat niala, cawat ira (warrior's hip sash) 
| | | Period: | 1900-1920 | | Yarn: | Hand-spun cotton, extremely fine, double-ply, natural indigo, chemical dyes for the red and yellow pinstripes. Undyed weft, of substantially greater gauge than the warp. | | Technique: | Warp ikat | | Panels: | 1 | | Size: | 21.5 x 186.5 cm (0' 8" x 6' 1") LW: 8.67 | | Weight: | 70 g (2.5 oz), 175 g/m2 (0.57 oz/ft2) | | Design: | The design consists of multiple narrow ikated stripes, the widest measuring merely 10 mm. The motifs conform to the Kisarese repertoire - though that for tubeskirts, not for selendangs, shawls. Remarkable is the asymmetric patterning. The two widest ikated stripes, equidistant from the longitudinal axis, carry linked curlicues and lying s-shapes that do not mirrror each other, but face the same way. At the extremities, the weaver placed groups of six stars executed in buna, a technique for secondary decoration that is common on Timor, but was never before encountered on an ikat textile from Kisar. | | Comment: | A very rare specimen. In forty years of collection no similar piece was ever encountered. The textiles is extremely light-weight: it has a specific weight of merely 175 g/m2 - circa 25 g/m2 lighter than the finest Sumba cloth. Gift from Bapak Kinga Lauren. | | Background: | Chapters on Moluccas and Kisar. | | Sources: | A similar sash, dated circa 1900, from the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum is shown in Khan Majlis's Indonesische Textiien, Fig.495 (thanks to Linda Pastorino for pointing this out). That example also has longitudinal asymmetry. | | |
©Peter ten Hoopen, 2026
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ONLINE MUSEUM OF INDONESIAN IKAT TEXTILES
CURATOR: Dr PETER TEN HOOPEN BROWSE FROM:
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