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A Gorgeous Tampan Ship Cloth from Sumatra

A textile full of soul!

Image

From the Kota Agung region, Sumatra. Pre 1900s.

A rare design in Tampans featuring a colonial Dutch ship and the associated ancestral tree.

Note the use of the fantastic natural yellow. And the colorful fish swimming in the sea.

Why is one ancestor rendered in an anomalous red color?

Why is there the one ancestor inside the ship and other shorter one below the ship’s hull in the right hand corner?

WHat is the connections between these two?

Who is the figure in the centre? And the one in the extreme left?

Why does one ancestor have ringed hands? What does that mean?

Other Tampans such as the one below have a structure that is easy to hypothesize about. But the one above leaves the possibilities open ended.

Am left mesmerised. By the colors, by the drawing and by the story contained within it!

ANTIQUE SUMATRA TEXTILE CEREMONIAL SHIP CLOTH TAMPAN

VIEW TIMELESS ART FROM THE VANISHING CULTURES OF ASIA

 

jm

Oct 2013

2 comments on “A Gorgeous Tampan Ship Cloth from Sumatra

  1. leatrice perry
    October 26, 2015

    I have 2 mounted ship cloths I found in a shop, I would like to sell.
    Please inquire at my email for pictures.

  2. wovensouls
    October 26, 2015

    Hello,
    I look forward to seeing pictures at jaina@wovensouls.com!

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This entry was posted on October 11, 2013 by in DAILY ART FIX and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

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