trade cloths have been valued heirlooms in the Toraja region of central Sulawesi for centuries. These figurative red and blue cloths (ma'a, mawa, also known as mbesa in the northern Toraja districts) appear to have generated a new genre of hand-drawn and block printing techniques among the Toraja people themselves. This particular example dates from the 1720s.
This genre of Indian mordant-painted cotton cloth (palampore) with its ornate flowering tree and border of garlands and bouquets, was created specifically for the European market. Many, however, reached Southeast Asia where their exotic foliage also had wide appeal and provided a rich source of design.
(detail) kain panjang skirtcloth Cirebon, Java, Indonesia cotton, natural dyes batik 106.0 x 258.3 cm Australian National Gallery 1984.3103
The motif of this particular hand-drawn batik from the north coast of Java is clearly derived from the designs on Indian palampore, the mordant-painted and dyed cotton bedspreads and hangings containing the 'tree of life' motif which were traded for many centuries into Southeast Asia. Indian palampore are now extremely rare heirlooms in java. However, this batik, although made around 1970, shows minimal local interpretation. The pattern, in brown and blue against a white ground, is known in Cirebon as the coconut (krambil). The culture of the people of this coastal region of west Java displays both Javanese and Sundanese elements.
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Design elements are formed from a variety of apparently conflicting symbols derived from different philosophies. The paths by which both objects and ideas arrived were often more circuitous than the trade routes. For example, the so-called 'tree of life' was a popular design on both Western and Oriental textiles traded into the region, but the history and development of this motif followed a complex path across several continents on its way to Southeast Asia (Maxwell, 1990). It is often impossible to distinguish clearly between symbolic representation and decorative devices, and to decide at which stage certain designs moved from one sphere to the other. In some cultures the break has been so dramatic that it is no longer possible to attach significant meaning to symbolism on textiles, although their aesthetic qualities may be greatly admired.
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Textiles do not represent discrete instances of historical or cultural change; numerous decorative techniques, and several sources of patterning may have contributed to a single cloth. Many textiles can only be understood by reference to the history of other cloths, other objects and other cultures. A ceremony performed in an isolated village may require many textiles of different age, technique, and origin - local cloths and neighbouring Southeast Asian or imported Indian and European fabrics. In Borneo, an Iban Dayak festival may draw a display of Chinese porcelain, Javanese gongs, ancient or European beads, Malay gold brocade and batik from Java, as well as large numbers of textiles woven by the Iban themselves. Certain lost Southeast Asian textile traditions still survive among the fine heirlooms of a neighbouring culture and some types of Indian cloths, no longer found in India, are still valued as sacred treasures in many parts of Southeast Asia.
Throughout the book I have often used the convention of the ethnographic present, although in many recent cases, and in some instances for the last century, circumstances have so changed South-east Asian cultures that textiles are no longer made or used as they once were. In certain parts of Southeast Asia, while cloths are still woven, they are a poor substitute for the beautiful objects of previous centuries, and their role in ritual is often severely diminished. The post-war period of nationalism which brought about the end of European colonial domination has had a vital impact upon artistic traditions. The conclusion of the book explores the problems facing traditional arts in the twentieth century where rapid social and cultural change and the impact of cheap, imported or manufactured substitutes threaten remaining textile traditions. The cultural milieu and social systems that once required beautiful traditional fabrics, but absorbed exciting foreign ideas and decorative influences, may soon disappear.
bowl Vietnam stoneware body, cobalt blue under glaze Art Gallery of South Australia 834C6
kain panjang woman's skirtcloth Peranakan Chinese people, Lasem, Java, Indonesia cotton, natural dyes, gold leaf batik, gold leaf gluework 272.5 x 104.5 cm Australian National Gallery 1983.3683
Foreign textiles were not the only sources of inspiration for local weavers; other exotic and expensive items of trade contained motifs that influenced their work. Ceramics similar to this fifteenth-century bowl from Vietnam with the popular fish motif, have been traded throughout the region from China and mainland Southeast Asia since the Han dynasty of 206 BC to AD 220. These objects are often used together with textiles in important ceremonies such as mortuary rites. Many motifs of apparent Chinese origin on Southeast Asian textiles, especially animals, fish and birds, appear to have been adapted from designs on porcelain. Such Chinese influences on motif and style are apparent on this late nineteenth-or early twentieth-century hand-drawn batik from Lasem on the north coast of Java. The main design consists of red and blue-black carp, lotus flowers and crustaceans, with obscure phoenix shapes inside the rectangular panel (papan). This skirtcloth would have been wrapped around the torso so that the decorated end-panel of triangular tumpal designs remained outermost. The addition of fine gold leaf indicates that the cloth was intended for festive occasions, such as weddings.
A NOTE ON DATING AND TERMINOLOGY
It is exceptionally difficult to date precisely Southeast Asian traditional textiles. Changes in technique, materials or designs were often sporadic and subtle and passed largely unrecorded. Innovations in one area sometimes took decades to reach another. For example, while inhabitants of some islands in eastern Indonesia enthusiastically accepted the introduction of commercial cotton thread in the late nineteenth century, women on neighbouring islands continued to spin cotton with a drop-weight spindle into the 1980s. Nevertheless, there are factors we can use to provide tentative dates for many textiles. Sometimes accurate information about origins is available when textiles enter public collections and occasionally the cloths themselves contain evidence. The later batik cloth from java, for example, sometimes features the date or the name of the artisan or workshop, and in some cases textiles can be identified with a popular artistic phase. In some parts of Southeast Asia, as a result of cultural stagnation or social change, the craft of making traditional textiles had deteriorated or even totally disappeared by a certain date.
tirai ceremonial hanging Malay people, east Sumatra, Indonesia cotton, wool, batik cloth, gold thread, lead-backed mirrors, beads couching, embroidery, appliqué 60.5 x 88.5 cm Australian National Gallery 1984.2001
This nineteenth-century Malay hanging is used to decorate the bridal or circumcision chamber and throne (pelaminan). Used for ceremonies which combine Islamic and Hindu rituals with ancient Southeast Asian customs, its lining consists of pieces of cer.tury-old, hand-drawn batik and handspun cotton plaid fabric from other parts of Indonesia which have been joined with pieces of European chintz and flannel. The form of the sparkling black, red and yellow textile may be compared with certain Chinese hangings while the pendant 'tongues' suggest Central Asian influence. The design incorporates Chinese-Persian motifs of trees and birds that have cosmic appeal in many Southeast Asian cultures. The three-branched trees, also a popular motif in Mughal art, are framed by border patterns formed from Islamic arabesques and Chinese cloud designs. The factory-manufactured lace surround suggests the influence of European textiles.
