Timor antique Beboki village tube sarong

Handspun cotton tube cloth ca. 1940s or 1950s
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 garment is a narrow tube cloth or sarong. I was told it was from Beboki village in Timor, and was "40 to 50 years old", thus dating from the 1940s or 1950s. The tube measures approx. 24 inches wide and 70 inches long. It consists of 4 pieces of warp-faced plain weave, with warp-ikat designs separated by warp stripes, and geometric designs added using supplemental-weft brocading. These geometric designs are the same on the front and back of the cloth. These 4 panels vary in width from 15 to 20 inches, but when the 4 are assembled, the total of 70 inches is attained. The dark "black" background and the ikat designs are dyed from indigo. All threads are cotton, and all appear to be hand spun.

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.