Sumba Ikat Selandang

Finely woven Sumba cloth with warp-ikat creatures
This textile was purchased ca. 1990 on a trip to Indonesia, probably in Bali. We were told it was 10-20 years old at the time.

This cloth was hand woven of cotton on the island of Sumba. It is a type of incidental cloth which could be a selandang. The weave is very fine cotton, in warp-face plain weave with designs in warp ikat. Long twisted warp fringes decorate both ends. Dimensions are 16.5 inches wide and 44 inches long, excluding the fringes.

Condition is excellent, no holes or stains, only some light wear and/or soil is possible. In the photos below, the warp always runs vertically. The first image shows approximately half of the garment, the other half is a mirror image but with different mythical figures at the end.