Splendid Symbols: Textiles and Tradition in Indonesia Author(s): Mary Elizabeth King
Source: African Arts, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Aug., 1979), p. 85 Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3335554 .
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of the Lesser Sunda Islands, and from Timor, Sulawessi and Borneo; on the walls hung de- licate ship's cloth from the south of Sumatra.
At the center of this hall stood a wooden To- radja sarcophagus 2.4 meters long, gener- ously loaned by the Museum of Cultural His- tory, UCLA. I had seen some of these intri- cately carved and time-weathered coffins in the caves of the Toradja area in Sulawessi, but never had I viewed one outside Indonesia or closely studied an example quite so lovely as that one. Experiencing this one piece, on pub- lic display for the first time, more than jus- tified the trip to Pasadena.
It was in the second hall that the influence of India, China and the West was most evi- dent. Porcelains, silver and elaborately carved furniture all showed the merging of these foreign styles with the fine craftsmanship that characterizes Indonesia. Here again, we were surrounded by cloth, this time predominantly batiks from Java, many of which also were Chinese- or European-inspired. Each comer harbored gilded wooden gods and demons of the Balinese-Hindu pantheon.
Two galleries offered a selection of Balinese paintings, some by Bali's greatest masters.
Examples ranged from the classic Wayang style of the Kelungkung area, through the highly prized works of the 1930s from Ubud and Batuan, to a very Western-influenced contemporary abstract from commercial Denpasar. The small alcoves contained pup- pets of the Wayang Kulit and Wayang Golek theaters, the former arranged, together with their screen and lamp, with the assistance of a visiting Balinese dancer. The recessed cases in the Storrier-Stearns room featured eight ex- ceptional krisses (daggers) from Bali, Sumatra, Java and Madura, all intricately worked in jewels, gold, silver and ivory. Most of these were from the Fowler Museum, and the others were from private collections. Finally, there were displays demonstrating some In- donesian craft processes, and the exhibition concluded with a set of Javanese Gamelan or- chestra instruments.
Karen Mills and John Fowler Santa Monica, California
SPLENDID SYMBOLS
Textiles and Tradition in Indonesia The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.
March 23-June 16, 1979
It is rare to find a group of Indonesian textiles as comprehensive and exciting as that shown recently at the Textile Museum. In "Splendid Symbols," the museum's own remarkable holdings were supplemented with examples from almost every major Indonesian collec- tion, both public and private, in the United States and Europe, as well as from museums and private collections in Indonesia. In addi- tion to the well-known resist-dyed batik, ikat and plangi, there were various warp and weft patterning techniques, tapestry, twining, tab- let weaving, embroidery, painting, and applique.
The exhibit was compiled by Dr. Mattiebelle Gittinger, who wished to demonstrate both
DEATH SHROUD OR HANGING. CELEBES ISLAND. COTTON, WARP IKAT. 145 x 178cm.
MUSEUM FOR VOLKERKUNDE. BASEL
"the varied roles textiles play in Indonesia"
and the "broad variety of textiles once made in the archipelago." The Textile Museum's galleries and conservative display techniques served very well to illuminate the variety and elegance of the more than 120 pieces. Two rooms were devoted to Javanese batiks and included exceptionally dramatic examples of that art. Another room was given over to Sumatran ceremonial cloths patterned with colored supplementary wefts on a natural cot- ton ground. They often feature large ships carrying crew, musicians, and other human and animal passengers, surrounded by fish, turtles, jellyfish, and other denizens of the sea. These ceremonial pieces have not been made since the turn of the century and are now a forgotten art. The incredibly compli- cated Balinese double ikats, woven in only one village, typified the ceremonial aspects of Indonesian weaving, but it was the technical process involved in their creation that was most appreciated by the viewer.
The central gallery of the museum was hung with large ikats from every quarter of the archipelago. Though Sumba ikats have become well known, they still enchant the viewer with their delightful horses, deer, birds, and trees. They were well represented in the show, with the selection including a piece collected in the early 1900s loaned by the
Museum voor Land- en Volkerkunde, Rotter- dam, and an exquisitely elaborate example collected in 1949 and now in the Museum ffir V1lkerkunde in Basel. The eastern islands and the Celebes and Borneo were also repre- sented by sophisticated textiles.
The second goal of the exhibition was to elucidate the cultural roles that these textiles play, a task aided by Gittinger's well- researched catalogue, which will stand on its own for years to come as the ultimate word on Indonesian weaving. This work, together with a second volume still to be produced, which resulted from a recent Textile Museum Roundtable on Indonesian textiles, will pro- vide a wealth of anthropological detail con- cerning function and will also have a great deal to say about design interpretation and the history and development of weaving in Indonesia.
Dr. Gittinger and the entire Textile Museum staff are to be congratulated on their splen- didly successful production. The exhibit will be at Asia House Gallery in New York City from July 10 to September 3.
The catalogue is available from: The Textile Museum, 2320 S Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008. $16.50 postpaid.
Mary Elizabeth King The University Museum University of Pennsylvania
85
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