Sumatra antique Minangkabau Selandang

**SOLD**
Finely woven Minangkabau selandang with songet metal weaving
This textile is part of a small collection of Indonesian textiles which I purchased in the late 1990s. They were collected in Indonesia in the 1970s, and were older and used but well-preserved pieces at the time.

This cloth was hand woven by the Minangkabau people of central Sumatra, in a style of weave called songet for the fine metal thread which is incorporated into the weaving. This textile is a selandang, a garment used as a shawl or carrying cloth. The weave is very fine and of raw silk, with finely hemmed stitching at both ends. The designs have been added using the brass thread as a supplemental weft. Dimensions are 16 inches wide and 65 inches long.

Condition is good but antique, probably 50 to 75 years old. There are no holes, but there is slight fading and water staining throughout. There is also a sharp lengthwise fold which has created some wear and light browning along this edge. In the photos below, the length of the cloth runs horizontally, so that the weft runs vertically. The left image shows approximately half of the garment, the other half is a mirror image .