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Ethnic Textiles  

Ikat Kepala with Gabah Sinawur Pattern

Maker/Designer

Workshop of W. F. van Lawick van Pabst

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Ikat Kepala

The centerfield of this man’s headcloth suggests a lake and the surrounding field shows scattered rice grains (Gabah Sinawur), a symbol of abundance. Worn by high-ranking palace officials, the stitch-resisted diamond would have been very difficult to dye correctly. The piece has a handwritten slip of paper signed “van Lawick van Pabst” stating the price as 10 Dutch guilders—a high price for a headcloth.

Materials

Cotton

Technique

Stitch resist, hand-drawn wax resist, vat-dyed on plain-weave cotton

Accession Number

Bureau of the Royal Household, Inv. #213

Location

Yogyakarta, Central Java