Title
Tubeskirt (unstitched)
Year/Period
Late 19th or early 20th century
Region
Flores
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 162.0 x 150.0 cm
Accession No.
2018-00994
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. M.S. Wijderveld-Bisdom. Presented to the ACM by the City of Delft, Netherlands.
The Lawo is a ceremonial sarong or tubeskirt worn by Lio women of the noble class. This skirt is made up of three panels of cloth sewn together, and the dominant colours include brown, red and blue. The end panels are decorated with small-scale geometric and zig-zag patterns arranged in vertical bands, designs which could have been inspired by Indian patola. The central panel is decorated with alternating patterns of horses (jara) and square-shaped motifs made up of four small diamonds (mata sa liwu). The horse is a common motif found on textiles from Insular Southeast Asia and usually identified with ceremonial activities associated with hunting and warfare in this region.
