Title
Tube skirt
Year/Period
Late 19th-early 20th century
Region
Sumba, Lesser Sunda Islands
Dimension
Object size: L130.1 x W61.2 cm
Accession No.
1997-04272
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Ng
This tube skirt has a striped centrefield with end panels depicting creatures with scaly bodies, ornate horns and tails. It is unclear what the creatures represent, but the use of red dye on the cloth indicates that it was used by a member of the noble class. Cloth dyed with red dye was the prerogative of the noble class in Sumbanese society, and were only dyed by women of the nobility who retained the secret of red dyeing.
