This ceremonial cloth or ‘tampan’ features a highly stylised ship with hooked stem and prow. Ship imagery in Lampung textiles symbolises a spiritual vessel that carries the community through transitions in life, hence ceremonial cloths were important at rites of passage such as rites of circumcision and weddings. Ceremonial cloths were also 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.
