We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of NSW stands.

Title

'Tais Hae Ma'buna' (woman's skirtcloth)

2003

Artist

Paulina Hati

Indonesia

No image

  • Details

    Place where the work was made
    Biboki → West Timor → East Nusa Tenggara → Lesser Sunda Islands → Indonesia
    Cultural origin
    Sapaen village
    Date
    2003
    Media category
    Textile
    Materials used
    handspun cotton yarn with synthetic and natural dyes; warp ikat with supplementary weft decoration
    Dimensions
    165.0 x 56.0 cm one side of tube; 165.0 x 112.0 cm overall tube
    Credit
    D G Wilson Bequest Fund 2003
    Location
    Not on display
    Accession number
    248.2003
    Artist information
    Paulina Hati

    Works in the collection

    1

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  • About

    Today the women of Biboki, West Timor, continue to weave, spin and dye cloth for daily and ritual wear. Skirtcloths, known as 'tais', are woven by women on traditional backstrap looms in intricate designs which reflect the status of the wearer. A textile like this one would be worn by women for important ceremonies such as marriages or the consecration of a traditional house. It was dyed and woven by Paulina Hati, a member of the non-profit Sangger Biboki Weavers’ Cooperative of West Timor which was begun in about 1989 and comprises hundreds of members in different villages (Pauline’s village is Sapaen). The textile, naturally dyed apart from the synthetically dyed commercial threads on the bottom section (called the 'buna') was commissioned by ‘Threads of Life’, a body supporting the revival of the most complicated expressions of the weaver’s art, as well as natural dye research.

    Asian Art Department, AGNSW, 2006

  • Exhibition history

    Shown in 1 exhibition

  • Bibliography

    Referenced in 1 publication