Title
Tubeskirt
Year/Period
Early to mid-20th century
Region
Sumba Island, Indonesia
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: L127.5 x W61 cm
Accession No.
2000-01245
Collection of
This woman’s lau, worn as a tube skirt, features a design of Dutch heraldic lions, probably taken from colonial era coins. It provides a fascinating glimpse of the process of appropriation and reinterpretation of foreign symbols, a process that occurs frequently across Southeast Asia. Traditionally, multi-coloured textiles were worn by aristocrats, while commoners wore plainer blue and white cloths.
