Collection
East Sumba, Indonesia
- Title
- Hinggi (man's shawl) with crayfish and 'coat of arms' design
- Place of origin
-
East Sumba →
Indonesia
- Year
- circa 1970
- Media category
- Textile
- Materials used
- cotton and natural dyes; warp ikat with supplementary weft patterning and braided ends
- Dimensions
-
114.2 x 274.0cm
- Credit
- Gift of Dr John Yu and Dr George Soutter 2003
- Accession number
- 182.2003
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
As in many parts of Indonesia, in Sumba textiles represent one of the most significant art forms. People wove them to fulfil ritual, ceremonial, and everyday functions. One of the most distinctive Sumbanese cloths is the hinggi (man's shawl), a very large cloth decorated with bold designs in a warp ikat. Usually a pair is made; one is worn as a sarong, while the other is folded over the shoulder as a long scarf or used as a shawl. This example is decorated with various motifs including a crayfish-like animal, trees, floral patterns, and a 'coat of arms' design, which reveals the influence of the Dutch. The ends display a separately woven geometric band and fringes.
Asian Art Department, AGNSW, January 2012
- Bibliography (4)
-
Mattiebelle Gittinger, Splendid symbols: textiles and tradition in Indonesia, Singapore, 1990.
Robyn Maxwell, Textiles of Southeast Asia : tradition, trade and transformation 1990, Canberra, 1990.
Jes A. Therik, Tenun ikat dari Timur: keindahan anggun warisan leluhur = Ikat in eastern archipelago: an esoteric beauty of ancestral entity, Jogjakarta, 1989.
Wanda Warming and Michael Gaworski, The world of Indonesian textiles, Japan, 1981.
- Exhibition history (1)
-
Symbols and Ceremonies: Indonesian Textile Traditions, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 13 Apr 2006–28 May 2006
