Title
Ceremonial cloth
Year/Period
19th century
Region
Lampung, South Sumatra
Dimension
Object size: L:74cm * W:64.6cm
Accession No.
1997-04370
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Ng
This ceremonial cloth or ‘tampan’ depicts two rows of ancestor or deity figures at the top, and underneath them, two creatures, probably elephants and a ship carrying a house-like structure that represents an ancestral shrine. Ship imagery in Lampung textiles symbolises a spiritual vessel that carries the community through transitions in life. Such 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.
