This Tai Neua textile is a blue ‘phaa biang’ (long shoulder cloth) that combines white and other colourful supplementary weft silk yarns onto an indigo-blue woven cotton ground. The section in the centre is bordered at both ends by two bands of continuous bird motif while the central section is woven with concentric diamonds.Northeastern Laos, which includes Sam Neua (Houaphan Province) is known for intricate weavings with supplementary weft (sometimes called ‘weft brocade’) designs that use raw home-grown silk cotton and natural dyes. The intricate design weaving of phaa biang indicates its use on special occasions such as weddings.
