Ceremonial Jacket

Like other Sumatran jackets, this one is simple in construction as the woven patterning is what it is all about. The fabric was originally woven in one piece with the sleeves cut from one end. The weaving starts with the tapestry band that decorates the bottom back.. There the weft threads are placed repeatedly in one small area to create oval shapes and curving lines. The rest of the weaving features broad bands of deep red and blue. The blue bands have a supplementary weft pattern of archaic grid while the design on the red bands has two vertical snaking lines that meet in the middle to produce a pattern of vertical lozenges. Braided attached collar and white cowrie shells along the edges complete the extraordinarily complex nature of this jacket, which no doubt belong to a person of high social status.Southern Bengkulu, Sumatra.

For a similar example, please refer to Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles by Mary Hunt Kahlenberg, page 92.