Title
Headcloth
Year/Period
Late 19th-early 20th century
Region
Palembang, southern Sumatra
Dimension
Object size: 82.6 x 86.5 cm
Accession No.
T-0818
Collection of
This headcloth of ikat weaving is decorated with embroidery that shows evidence of Chinese influence.Chinese communities in Sumatra produced their own textiles and garments, which borrowed from, and in turn influenced, local traditions. Traditional Chinese embroidery techniques probably inspired the local embroidery or ‘sulaman’ tradition. Woven cloths and songket garments were often embellished with embroidery style that originated in China. Auspicious Chinese symbols were also combined with local motifs, such as the civet cat or ‘musang’.
