Title
Ceremonial cloth
Year/Period
Late 19th-early 20th century
Region
North Sumatra
Dimension
Object size: L182 x W72.4 cm (Without tassel
Accession No.
1997-04474
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Ng
The central panel of this ‘ulos rujat’, or ceremonial cloth, is woven by the ‘warp ikat’ technique, where the vertical threads are tied and dyed. The soft blurry features of the central panel contrasts with the detailed and sharp patterns of the fringes. The braid that completes the cloth is known as ‘sirat’, which also means letters or writing, and is done by men. While textiles are usually the domain of women in Southeast Asia, for the Batak people, sometimes both the crafts of both male and female are necessary to complete a piece of textile.
