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1923.86.80

Cloth patterned by the "tie-and-dye" process and woven on a loom. [CW 15 6 98]

1923.86.80

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Collection type
Object
Description
Cloth patterned by the "tie-and-dye" process and woven on a loom. [CW 15 6 98]
Long description
Rectangular ikat cloth made of two lengths of cloth stitched together. Warp faced ikat, predominanatly faded red colour with weft twining near the two cut borders. Fringed along the two cut borders. Striped woven patterning adjacent to the selvedge borders. One corner has strings of four red beads fixed to it. [JN]
Geographical reference
Malaysia
Asia > South-eastern Asia > Malaysia
Sarawak
Cultural groups
Iban
Kenyah
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1923
Date collected
By 1923
Acquisition information
Donated: 1923
Materials and processes
Material Textile, Material Bead, Material Pigment, Process Ikat Resist Dyed, Process Woven
Dimensions
Width 860 mm approx, Length 2050 mm approx
Object numbers
Accession number: 1923.86.80
Research and responses

Traude Gavin, author of The Women's Warpath: Iban Ritual Fabrics from Borneo (Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1966), states that the pattern of this cloth "is known in some Iban areas (Baleh, Ulu Ai) as the Rang Jugah pattern (compare Gavin 1996:43). However, if these cloths come form another area, the pattern may not be known there by this name". Commenting on Hepple's statement that this is 'a blanket for dreaming in', Traude Gavin says that "Iban pua kumbu are not for everyday wear, but only for ritual use. One ritual function was to sleep covered by a pua kumbu to attract dreams of spirit helpers, or dreams for guidance before important undertakings. This is done rarely today." She notes that there are many other ritual functions for Iban ritual textiles. Notes in RDF under 1923.86.83-94. [CF 24/7/2002]

Search terms: Textile, Specimen

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