Antique Sulawesi Ikat from the 1800s
Kalumpang, West Sulawesi
The amazing quality of this Ikat textile is seen in the close-ups - please take a close look.
This type of cloth is used in ceremonies of transition from this life to the afterlife.
The motifs are fine, small and dense and not large as we see in younger ikat textiles.
Note the use of blue and a dark blue.
The most attractive feature of these fragments is the amazing threads ....the weaving has uneven yarn
Estimated to be from the 1800s
The largest is 52 cm x 11 cm approximately
Great study example.
Still searching the library for an equally old equally amazing example.
The quality of this group of textiles is too good to be true!
Do note that these are damaged fragments, with faded colors and heavy wear.
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This item has spent a lifetime being used for the purpose of its creation with the original artist/user. Signs of this life lived heartily may be present on the piece in the form of stains, thread loss, loose threads, holes, tears, color run and other imperfections. Therefore the condition must be assumed to be “not” perfect. More photos of such imperfections will be provided on request.
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