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Lombok | Early 20th c ritual textile (pesujutan)
Indonesia, Lombok island, Sasak people, 1900 – 1925
Handspun brown cotton, botanical dyes, continuous and discontinuous supplementary weft weaving
a rare ritual cloth woven in handspun cotton with a supplementary weft design of anthropomorphic figures within a geometric grid of lozenges. Set out in three successive rows in a centre pane, the figures are worked in solid colours of cranberry red, dark teal and pink terracotta, with a single eye in the middle of the head. They stand four abreast, the inner two beneath a roofed structure. The lozenge grid within which the ‘window’ of the figures is placed provides a restful and harmonious symmetry of alternating undyed and coloured columns, and rows of regularly repeating colours. The textile is finished with a row of triangles—note the asymmetrical colours—and short, twisted and knotted fringes. It is very well made, its dynamic design appearing at once effortless and precise.
Context: Though predominantly Muslim, the Sasak people distinguish between their Wetu Lima and Wetu Telu communities, who respectively follow all 5 (lima) or only 3 (telu) of the Islamic precepts. The pesujutan is “one of the most sacred textiles of the Sasak, used by Muslim religious leaders in the mosque, and also by a bridegroom during the wedding ritual. (Cederoth 1993: 305-306, cit. Nabholz-Kartaschoff 2008: 106 n. 87) Throughout Lombok, a pesujutan is used to cover the face and genitals during the washing of the corpse before burial. They are primarily made in remote mountain villages of Wetu Telu areas, and their weaving requires careful rituals beforehand, and the seclusion of the weaver. (Maxwell, Textiles of Southeast Asia, 1st edition, 302 – 304)
The textile is in excellent condition: though it shows some general wear and has obviously been used, there are no stains, holes, or tears. The colours are warm and clear, and the brown cotton is a darker oatmeal shade than my photos have captured. The handspun cotton is quite densely woven, robust, a little crisp with age, with a sandy texture.
55 x 127 cm including fringes.
Indonesia, Lombok island, Sasak people, 1900 – 1925
Handspun brown cotton, botanical dyes, continuous and discontinuous supplementary weft weaving
a rare ritual cloth woven in handspun cotton with a supplementary weft design of anthropomorphic figures within a geometric grid of lozenges. Set out in three successive rows in a centre pane, the figures are worked in solid colours of cranberry red, dark teal and pink terracotta, with a single eye in the middle of the head. They stand four abreast, the inner two beneath a roofed structure. The lozenge grid within which the ‘window’ of the figures is placed provides a restful and harmonious symmetry of alternating undyed and coloured columns, and rows of regularly repeating colours. The textile is finished with a row of triangles—note the asymmetrical colours—and short, twisted and knotted fringes. It is very well made, its dynamic design appearing at once effortless and precise.
Context: Though predominantly Muslim, the Sasak people distinguish between their Wetu Lima and Wetu Telu communities, who respectively follow all 5 (lima) or only 3 (telu) of the Islamic precepts. The pesujutan is “one of the most sacred textiles of the Sasak, used by Muslim religious leaders in the mosque, and also by a bridegroom during the wedding ritual. (Cederoth 1993: 305-306, cit. Nabholz-Kartaschoff 2008: 106 n. 87) Throughout Lombok, a pesujutan is used to cover the face and genitals during the washing of the corpse before burial. They are primarily made in remote mountain villages of Wetu Telu areas, and their weaving requires careful rituals beforehand, and the seclusion of the weaver. (Maxwell, Textiles of Southeast Asia, 1st edition, 302 – 304)
The textile is in excellent condition: though it shows some general wear and has obviously been used, there are no stains, holes, or tears. The colours are warm and clear, and the brown cotton is a darker oatmeal shade than my photos have captured. The handspun cotton is quite densely woven, robust, a little crisp with age, with a sandy texture.
55 x 127 cm including fringes.
price:
SOLD