Title
Ceremonial cloth
Year/Period
19th century
Region
Lampung, South Sumatra
Dimension
Object size: L:81cm * W:69.5cm
Accession No.
1997-04392
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Ng
This ceremonial cloth or ‘tampan’ features the design of a ship carrying a huge creature in mirror image. Two ancestor or deity figures are housed within the creature, while two more ancestor figures are housed under howdahs on the creature.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.
