Ikat Hand Woven Hand Spun Natural Dye Women Rare Tube Sarong Tais Alor Indonesia

$395.00

Hand-woven on a simple back strap loom in the islands of Alor near West Timor Indonesia. The weaver has used a charming range of natural dyes of from the land and the sea to weave her traditional womens cloth.

Description

W1037 – Hand-woven on a simple back strap loom by Ibu Nane in the islands of Alor near West Timor Indonesia using a combination of hand spun cotton and commercial thread and natural and aniline dyes. This women’s sarong has been washed and worn several times rendering the woven fabric soft to wear. It is rare to find hand spun cotton textiles in Alor as well as in such good condition. Collected in the field by Julie in 1996.

This image / motif is the weavers representation of clouds and waves surrounding her island, it has been achieved by tying small bunches of thread in the weft then dying it, this is where the word IKAT [to knot or tie] comes from. Woven on a simple back strap loom, which the woman herself tensions, to create this unique sarong or tais.

118cm / 46.5″ long

136cm / 54″ circum

If you wish to gather multiple treasures, and international buyers are welcome, this website and shop cart should allow for it. If not, I will contact you to find the most economical way to send your treasures to you.

I am Julie and have been collecting Timorese Treasures in the field since 1990 when I won a prize for overseas travel in a pub in Darwin [true]. I had no idea at the time that I had stumbled upon an Aladdin’s cave of authentic traditional tribal textiles and treasures. I have been returning annually ever since [well most years] and been witness to many changes across the last 3 decades. Who knows when we will be able to travel there again to obtain such treasures?

NOTE: We use recycled packaging.

Clearly none of us are sure what will happen post COVID, if there is such a thing, but I do know that the villagers, carvers and weavers up in the mountains will be grateful when some outside dollars comes into their informal/circular economy. Therefore every purchase you choose to make with me will benefit the Atoni [people of West Timor] as soon as I can get back there.

I distribute reading glasses and nutritious food seeds as the soil in the western half of Timor is very poor and water a precious resource. Please contact me if you wish to contribute.

Additional information

Weight 1.5 kg
Dimensions 25 × 5 × 25 cm

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