1840 Antique Iban Ceremonial Ikat - Vines & Trophy? pattern

Antique Iban Ceremonial Ikat Pua Kumbu

Among the Iban, textiles are treasured as they are more than just objects made of fibre.

In some cultures, such as the Iban, textiles have played a major, if not central role, in all the ceremonies surrounding the important events in life. Power structures among women are based on dyeing and weaving skills. Perhaps the most important materials owned by families were textiles.

Ikat textiles are among the hardest to make, as the tie-dye is done on the unwoven threads before they are woven into cloth. So with a design in the weaver's imagination, the thread is dyed in sections as per the pattern that is required to be created. This takes immense precision and calculation. So when we note that these textiles were made decades ago in the rainforests of Borneo - Kalimantan, Sabah & Sarawak, there is a sense of awe for the creators.

Further, textiles themselves were believed to have the power to connect to the spirit world. The motifs, the dyes and the complexity of the weaving - all factors that were a direct result of the weaver's skill and experience - contributed to the power held by a textile.

Only textiles with certain features could be used during the most important community ceremonies and the weavers of these therefore enjoyed an elevated status of prestige.

So to study an Iban textile, requires us to focus on patterns, motifs, complexity and lastly and equally importantly - the dyes. The process of dyeing enjoys a far greater role in the value chain of production of Iban textiles than it does in any other group of textiles.

Size: 198 X 86cm / Has color issues or stains on one corner

MY NOTES ON THIS TEXTILE:

• Amazing color
• The most remarkable features of this textile are the top and bottom borders. One end has motifs of dancing figures and the other has elaborate trophy baskets in my opinion. 
  
• The intentional asymmetry between the top half and the bottom half of the textile is interesting.
• The horizontal bands in the vertical borders are noteworthy as this is difficult to execute in ikat. 
• Edge borders or Ara have figurative ornaments this is a remarkable feature
• The  9 hexagonal patterns with strong jagged motifs inner borders might be depictions of trophy skulls.(needs to be confirmed...)
  
• Note the rice-grain fillers and the concentric square fillers - all neatly executed within the patterns making it a tediously crafted textile.

 CLICK TO SEE THE COMPLETE COLLECTION OF IKAT PUA KUMBU

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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