Title
Shoulder cloth
Year/Period
Late 19th-early 20th century
Region
Palembang, South Sumatra
Dimension
Object size: 231.5 x 78.4 cm
Accession No.
1997-04458
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Ng
This ‘selendang’ or shoulder cloth is a narrow piece of rectangular cloth worn over the shoulder. This shoulder cloth was dyed by ‘tritik’ (stitch-resist) and ‘pelangi’ (tie-dyeing), where sections of the cloth were sewn or tied respectively to resist the colour of the dye. These methods of tie-dye were inspired by Indian trade cloths, and are found throughout Southeast Asia. The zig-zags at the fringes were achieved by the pelangi method while the paisley-style designs were done by the tritik method. It is said that the paisley-style designs reflect Indian influence.
