Name: Woman’s skirt/Ceremonial textile Local Name: Sin mii kan Ethnic Group: Tai Lue Origin: Northwest Laos Materials: Cotton, silk, natural and synthetic dyes Techniques: Discontinuous supplementary weft, weft ikat Age: Early 20th century Size: 100 x 60 cm Tubular skirts of Tai Lue women have distinctive features. The border is large and often composed of indigo-dyed cotton fabric. In the midsection, patterning is organized into horizontal rows. Two pieces of similarly-patterned cloth are required to form this skirt’s part. Thus, two side seams are present. The midsection of this skirt is primarily silk, indicating its use for special occasions. Weft patterning of an undulating line symbolizes a serpent deity that is connected to water. The other weft ikat pattern is a repeating human figure. Discontinuous supplementary weft patterns form multicoloured mountains. Heads of the naga serpent deity are in white.