Title
Ceremonial cloth
Year/Period
19th century
Region
Lampung, South Sumatra
Dimension
Object size: 67 x 61 cm
Accession No.
1997-04411
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Ng
This ceremonial cloth or ‘tampan’ depicts a ship carrying ancestor or deity figures under a highly stylised house-like structure. The house-like structure probably represents an ancestral shrine, a motif commonly found on tampans. Ship imagery on Lampung textiles symbolises a spiritual vessel that carries the community through transitions in life. Ceremonial cloths could be used as gifts, covers for ritual offerings or pillows for the deceased. It is normally woven using the supplementary weft technique, where additional horizontal threads create patterns over the top of the ground weave.
