This is part of a 'songket' or gold brocade cloth. Made of silk, it is woven with red and brown horizontal thread bands of varying widths separated by thin yellow stripes and decorated with geometric motifs in gold thread using supplementary-weft technique. It is possibly a sample cut from an original textile and may be a segment of a headdress or a waist tie. The Minangkabau of West Sumatra have one of the richest material cultures in island Southeast Asia as a result of agriculture and trade. Their gold brocade textiles in particular show their love for the exquisite and opulent.
