1918 Rare Antique Ceremonial Toraja Sarita - Batik Textile Art

Antique Ceremonial "Sarita" Cloth Banner from Toraja.

Art created by wax resit dyeing on cotton base and made in Toraja.

Amazing variety of motifs ... human scenes, geometrical motifs and a figure of Brahma? or Vishnu? on each side make this a rare and fabulous Sarita. 

DO look at the closeups to get an idea of the wonderful base cloth that has been softened by age and decades of usage.

Estimated to be from the early-mid 1900s 

These beautiful banners serve a variety of ritual / outdoor ceremonial purposes and are integrated into the lives of the people. 

The variety of motifs is interesting and in most cases, the Sarita the same or similar arrangement of motifs on both sides of the textile. 

Used to wrap bamboo poles or convey important visual symbolic messages during ceremonies. 

For photo and video examples on the use of these Saritas, please have a look at the wovensouls blog.

For authentic Saritas that have been used in outdoor ceremonies, the condition is never perfect. Holes are caused by pinning these to bamboos as flags or for hanging displays around the house. These are subject to rain and windy conditions during the ceremonies and get faded and weather beaten over time. So any Sarita that is in perfect condition has probably been through very few actual ceremonies. 

SIZE: 595 x 20 cm (about a meter longer than some of the recent listings)

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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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