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KALIMANTAN PUA

Type: Ikat Ritual Cloth (Pua)  

Origin: Indonesia, Kalimantan, Saribas border, 1920 - 1940s

Technique: Commercial cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat

Description: A very fine, ikat ritual / ceremonial hanging (pua) woven by  ...
KALIMANTAN PUA

Type: Ikat Ritual Cloth (Pua)  

Origin: Indonesia, Kalimantan, Saribas border, 1920 - 1940s

Technique: Commercial cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat

Description: A very fine, ikat ritual / ceremonial hanging (pua) woven by  ...
KALIMANTAN PUA

Type: Ikat Ritual Cloth (Pua)  

Origin: Indonesia, Kalimantan, Saribas border, 1920 - 1940s

Technique: Commercial cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat

Description: A very fine, ikat ritual / ceremonial hanging (pua) woven by  ...
KALIMANTAN PUA

Type: Ikat Ritual Cloth (Pua)  

Origin: Indonesia, Kalimantan, Saribas border, 1920 - 1940s

Technique: Commercial cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat

Description: A very fine, ikat ritual / ceremonial hanging (pua) woven by  ...
KALIMANTAN PUA

Type: Ikat Ritual Cloth (Pua)  

Origin: Indonesia, Kalimantan, Saribas border, 1920 - 1940s

Technique: Commercial cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat

Description: A very fine, ikat ritual / ceremonial hanging (pua) woven by  ...
KALIMANTAN PUA

Type: Ikat Ritual Cloth (Pua)  

Origin: Indonesia, Kalimantan, Saribas border, 1920 - 1940s

Technique: Commercial cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat

Description: A very fine, ikat ritual / ceremonial hanging (pua) woven by  ...
kalimantan PUA

Type: Ikat Ritual Cloth (Pua)

Origin: Indonesia, Kalimantan, Saribas border, 1920 - 1940s

Technique: Commercial cotton, natural dyes, warp ikat

Description: a very fine, ikat ritual / ceremonial hanging (pua) woven by the Ibanic people along the Kalimantan/ Saribas border, with a beautifully detailed and intriguing pattern executed in fresh brick red, soft blue, dark brown and ecru. The pua was woven in 2 mirroring panels that were sewn together along the selvedge, and the design is moves upwards from human figures at the base of large, interlocking blue-hooked rhombs. The intricate delicacy of the design balances between the organic, vegetal hooks and a patterned symmetry of design, and between the figurative and the abstract. Solid striped bars extending above the heads of the larger figures suggest tree trunks, but the expansive blue outlined forms also resemble some cloud patterns made by the Sarawak Ibans. The variation in the thickness of blue, white, red and dark brown outlines creates a sophisticated three-dimensional effect, the amount of blue used is rare and gives a strong emphasis to a design which has an overall fresh, lively elegance.

History & Context: Textile art has sacred origins and ritual functions for the Iban people, as well as the more usual social ones. Pua are used in a wide range of important ceremonies and rituals: to protect children during the first ritual bath and adoption rites; to signal a ritual event to human beings and to the gods who are invited to attend it; to act as a barrier material against evil spirits in healing rites; and most famously to receive the trophy heads brought back from headhunting raids. Pua also transform in the world of spirits into the wings of the shaman, or the fishnet he uses to bring the soul of the sick person back to the world.

Condition: The textile is in excellent condition, with no holes, stains, or tears. The red in particular has a warm, fresh tone (unlike the darker red tones used in the Sarawak region), the blue is rich, light and gentle, the brown accents are deep and the ecru very clear. The cotton is very fine and soft, with a fresh, crisp handle.

Dimensions: Length: 186 cm plus 13 cm fringes at each end. Width: 92 cm.
price:  SOLD