Unknown Artist
- Title
- 'Sin mii khan' (striped ikat tube skirt)
- Other titles:
- 'pha sin' (ceremonial skirt)
- Place of origin
-
Vientiane →
Laos
- Cultural origin
- Lao-Tai people
- Year
- circa 1880
- Media category
- Textile
- Materials used
- Silk, natural dyes; weft ikat, continuous and discontinuous supplementary weft weaving
- Dimensions
-
79.0 x 79.0cm
- Credit
- Gift of Nomadic Rug Traders 2003
- Accession number
- 252.2003
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
'Sin mii khan' are tube skirts woven with only a little 'ikat' decoration. According to Patricia Cheesman, these skirts became particularly popular during the French colonial period, but are similar stylistically to skirts produced in Muang Phan and Lan Xang (the Laotian kingdom before Thai domination). Such skirts are usually composed of three sections. This one is missing the waist band. The body of the textile has red silk warp and weft threads, and some multi-coloured wefts. The patterns are produced with continuous and discontinuous supplementary weaving, as well as the 'ikat' (tie-dye) technique. The designs include spots, stripes, an abstract 'naga' (mythical serpent), and 'dork saa lii' (corn flowers).
Asian Art Department, AGNSW, December 2011
