Title
Khongsu Chin skirtcloth
Year/Period
Mid 20th century
Region
Chin state, north-west Myanmar
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 49 x 112 cm
Accession No.
2013-00515
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Laura Kan
This skirtcloth was woven and worn by a Khonsu Chin woman. It was made with hand-spun and indigo-dyed cotton, and was woven using a backstrap loom. The design comprises bands of supplementary weave using colourful commercially available cotton thread.The hem also has a fringe of cylindrical glass beads. Many different sub-groups of the Chin community live across the hilly Chin state in the north-west region of Myanmar as well as across the border into Chittagong and other areas of north-east India. Their textile arts are a marker of their identity as a sub-group within the wider Chin community. Elaborate textiles also signal the owner's wealth and social standing within the village hierarchy.
