Review 23-3-2014 September

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the journal of the asian arts society

of australia

TAASA ReviewceleBratinG 20 years of teXtile stuDy

3 Editorial: CElEbrating 20 yEars of tExtilE study

Marianne Hulsbosch, Guest Editor

4 translating tExtilEs: PoEtry, Profit and PolitiCs in tHE iMagEry

of tHE WoVEn art of asia

Susan Scollay

7 tExtilEs in tHE syMboliC uniVErsE of bali

Siobhan Campbell

10 froM PinEConE to PaislEy: tHE ubiQuitous BOTEH

Christina Sumner

13 VEils of CHangE – rabari WEdding sHaWls

Carole Douglas

16 A FINE POSSESSION: JEWELLERY AND IDENTITY - asian body adornMEnt

at tHE PoWErHousE MusEuM

Min-Jung Kim and Christina Sumner

18 in ConVErsation: asian Cultural origins in tHE tExtilE WorK

of rutH HadloW and WEndy lugg

Belinda von Mengersen

22 CalligraPHiC batiK ClotHs in soutHEast asia: MEaning bEHind tHE Words

Margaret White

24 ralli Quilts: ExPrEssions of Cultural & indiVidual idEntity

Sarah E. Tucker

26 rEsEarCHing in tHE fiEld – tHE sri KsEtra MusEuM, Pyay, MyanMar

Charlotte Galloway

27 CollECtor’s CHoiCE: A MUANG HUN TEXTILE FROM NORTHWEST LAOS

Gay Spies

28 booK rEViEW: POINTY SHOES AND PITH HELMETS

Gill Green

29 taasa’s agM & inaugural taasa oration

Sandra Forbes

30 rECEnt taasa aCtiVitiEs

33 taasa MEMbErs’ diary: SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBR 2014

34 WHat’s on: SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBR 2014

Compiled by Tina Burge

C o n t E n t s

Volume 23 No. 3 September 2014

2

a full indEx of artiClEs PublisHEd in taasa rEViEW sinCE its bEginnings

in 1991 is aVailablE on tHE taasa WEb sitE, WWW.taasa.org.au

TUBE-SKIRT (SINH) (DETAIL) FROM MUANG HUN, OUDOMXAI PROVINCE, NORTHWEST LAOS,

LATE 19TH C.. © GAY SPIES, IMAGE COURTESY OF CAROLINE WHITLEY, SEE P27.

taasa rEViEW

THE ASIAN ARTS SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA INC. Abn 64093697537 • Vol. 23 No.3, September 2014 ISSN 1037.6674 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No. NBQ 4134

editoriAL • email: [email protected]

General editor, Josefa Green

PubliCations CoMMittEE

Josefa Green (convenor) • Tina burge Melanie Eastburn • Sandra Forbes • Charlotte Galloway William Gourlay • Marianne Hulsbosch Jim Masselos • Ann Proctor • Sabrina Snow Christina Sumner

dEsign/layout

Ingo Voss, VossDesign

Printing

John Fisher Printing

Published by The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc. PO Box 996 Potts Point NSW 2011 www.taasa.org.au

Enquiries: [email protected]

TAASA Review is published quarterly and is distributed to members

of The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc. TAASA Review welcomes

submissions of articles, notes and reviews on Asian visual and

performing arts. All articles are refereed. Additional copies and

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No opinion or point of view is to be construed as the opinion of

The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc., its staff, servants or agents.

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tHE dEadlinE for all artiClEs

FOR OUR NEXT ISSUE IS 1 OCTOBER 2014

tHE dEadlinE for all adVErtising

FOR OUR NEXT ISSUE IS 1 NOVEMBER 2014

E d i to r i a l : C E l E b r at i n g 2 0 y E a r s o f t E x t i l E s t u dy

Marianne Hulsbosch, Guest Editor

3

t a a s a C o M M i t t E E

Textiles literally weave a thread throughout everyone’s lives: it is the first material one comes in contact with shortly after birth, and it acts as a final shroud when one leaves this earth. Textiles sooth, protect, shelter and identify you. No wonder then that the mere mention of textiles conjures up a lot of passion amongst TAASA members.

Shortly after the inauguration of TAASA the idea of a special textile focus group was proposed by Judith Rutherford. A call to arms quickly resulted in the very first meeting in 1994. Ann Baker’s suggestion to set up a rigorous Study Group that expected members to be highly committed to researching and promoting all aspects of Asian textiles was enthusiastically adopted.

Thus the TAASA Textile Study Group (TSG) was born and in itself can be considered as a textile: a vibrant patchwork encompassing hands-on experience, analysis of textile objects, reviews of artists, exhibitions, publications, and the like. The TSG has become stronger than ever thanks to a committed, active core of people, some of them foundation members. Publishing a dedicated textile issue on this, the 20th anniversary of the TSG was an opportunity not to be missed.

This issue then, acts simultaneously as a celebration of Asian textiles and as recognition of, and dedication to all those people who have so generously offered their time, expertise, knowledge and general support to keep all aspects of textiles firmly in the spotlight.

As part of this celebration, a Textile Symposium was held on 19 July at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. The first three articles in this issue present summaries of the papers presented at the symposium.

Susan Scollay opened with a keynote address which focused on the cross-cultural influences of symbols and imagery transmitted through textiles, in particular woven textiles. She explores how specific designs, colours and textile items were successfully exploited to identify and visually enhance political and socio-economic power. This was followed by Siobhan Campbell, a scholar whose research is firmly located in Balinese material culture. Her article examines how symbolism found on Balinese woven, embroidered and painted cloths continues to play a vital role in contemporary Balinese cultural and ritual life as a means of storytelling and articulating Balinese worldviews. Rounding off the symposium, Christina Sumner, a longstanding member of the TSG,

explored the history of the boteh (paisley) motif. She presents us with a chronological trajectory of this universally recognised design, giving us a better understanding of the impact it had, and continuous to have, on modern-day textiles.

The use of graphic symbols on cloth is further examined by Margaret White in her article, which investigates the use of Arabic calligraphy on batik cloths of Southeast Asia. This is a welcome enquiry, as it appears this area is a little neglected in modern day scholarly pursuits.

Both Carole Douglas and Sarah Tucker reflect on personal experiences prompted by specific textile pieces. Carole vividly recalls her conversation with Rabari women in the village of Bhujodi, Gujarat, who are still producing the famed ludi (wedding shawl). In light of rapid industrialisation, access to technology and economic prosperity she wonders what the future holds for the women and their textiles traditions. Sarah’s memories of living as a young girl in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan were jolted by the sight of a well-used and worn ralli (quilt) from Thatta, Sindh. Like Carole, she recognises the ongoing resourcefulness and creativity of the women who make them today.

Belinda von Mengersen approaches Asian textiles from a very different perspective, providing us with a rare glimpse into creative textile practice in her examination of the work of two prominent contemporary artists, Ruth Hadlow and Wendy Lugg. She describes the dialogue between their initial inspiration - West Timor’s woven textiles (Hadlow) and Japanese hand-stitched Boro (Lugg) - and their subsequent artistic response.

Gay Spies invites us to sample her favourite piece, an exquisite Muang Hun tube-skirt, produced for Khmu shamans who were living in northwest Laos. Min-Jung Kim tempts us with a preview of a major jewellery exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney starting in September. Whilst Charlotte Galloway reminds us of the importance of cataloguing museum artefacts as she informs us of her ongoing work in the Sri Ksetra Museum in Myanmar.

We trust you enjoy this special issue of the TAASA Review.

This issue also provides a summary on p29 of the TAASA AGM held in May. We would like to thank outgoing members of the TAASA Management Committee for their contribution and welcome our new members, who are listed on this page.

GiLL Green • PRESIDENT

Art historian specialising in Cambodian culture

Ann ProCtor • VICE PRESIDENT

Art historian with a particular interest in Vietnam

todd SundermAn • TREASURER

Former Asian antique dealer, with a particular interest in Tibetan furniture

dy AndreASen • SeCretAry

Has a special interest in Japanese haiku and tanka poetry

siobHan CaMPbEll

Lecturer, Indonesian Studies, Sydney University with an interest in Balinese art

JosEfa grEEn

General editor of TAASA Review. Collector of Chinese ceramics

boris KasPiEV

Private collector of Asian art with a particular interest in the Buddhist art of the Himalayan region

Min-Jung KiM

Curator of Asian Arts & Design at the Powerhouse Museum

nataliE sEiz

Assistant Curator, Asian Art, AGNSW with an interest in modern/contemporary Asian Art

CHristina suMnEr

Former Principal Curator, Design and Society,Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

MargarEt WHitE

Former President and Advisor of the Friends of Museums, Singapore, with special interest in Southeast Asian art, ceramics and textiles

taasa aMbassador

JaCKiE MEnziEs

Emeritus Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of NSW. President of TAASA from 1992 – 2000

statE rEPrEsEntatiVEs

AUSTRALIAn CAPITAL TERRITORY

MElaniE Eastburn

Curator of Asian Art, National Gallery of Australia

QUEENSLAND

russEll storEr

Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art, Queensland Art Gallery

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

JaMEs bEnnEtt

Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia

VICTORIA

Carol Cains

Curator Asian Art, National Gallery of Victoria International

4

n increasingly important topic for art historians in this century has been that

of ‘crossing cultures’. The University of Melbourne addressed the theme in 2008 when it hosted a major international conference aimed at loosening the boundaries between various fields of art history. Professor Howard Morphey of the ANU, one of the conference organisers, noted that the discipline of art history was established after the Enlightenment as a discipline that encouraged the view that art happened only in Europe, and that European art had become the reference point for serious scholarship. Morphey said that, as an anthropologist, he would like “art historians to learn to translate art in the same way as a language must be translated.”

His appeal resonated with those working in the field of Asian art history seeking to explore the ways distinct cultures have traditionally encountered and interacted with each other. The word ‘translate’ in a literal sense means ‘to carry across’ but, in a scholarly sense, has been used in recent years to describe the complex process whereby tangible and intangible culture circulates within and beyond its place of origin. In the context of the woven arts of

Asia, the mechanisms of circulation result in imagery being understood, interpreted and re-interpreted – ie ‘translated’– in new ways. Asian textiles carry imagery and symbols transformed over time by faith, travelling stories, long distance trade, the ebb and flow of fashion in dress and interiors, and through the rise and fall of princely states and imperial power.

The oldest-known evidence of textile weaving in Asia is an imprint of a woven textile on two pieces of clay found at the Neolithic site at Jarmo, in present-day Iraq and dated to 7,500 BCE (Barber 1994: 78). However, in terms of understanding the circulation of images, a useful place to start is in northeast India where in the 3rd century BCE the spiritual teachings of Buddha began to be disseminated at Magadha (Bihar), one of the oldest settled places in the world. As the Buddha’s teachings began to be recognised farther afield, spreading into China for example in the 1st century CE, it became customary for key elements of the faith – including scenes from the life of the Buddha – to be painted onto temple banners made of cloth (Hartel 1982: 21). Silk banners became

a key component of Buddhist ceremonies, although scholars are not sure whether the practice of using silk banners spread to China from India via Central Asia, or whether the practice spread outwards from Central Asia into both India and China around the same time (Xinru 1988: 68).

From the 1st century CE onwards, in the Arabian Peninsula, well before the revelation of the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad and the emergence of the new faith of Islam in the 7th century, tribes met for regular poetry competitions. Their gathering point was near the site of what is now the Kaaba in Mecca and, tradition says, the best verses were embroidered onto cloth banners hung up for everyone to see (Irwin 2000: 6–7). From antiquity, in this and other ways, textiles conveyed meaning across Asia.

by the end of the first millennium CE a great buddhist civilisation flourished in Central Asia, and caravans carried goods along trading paths that stretched from China all the way to Rome, along what Europeans in the 19th century called the ‘Silk Route’ or ‘Silk Road’. The main vestment worn by Buddhist monks

A

t r a n s l a t i n g t E x t i l E s : P o E t r y, P r o f i t a n d P o l i t i C s

i n t H E i M a g E r y o f t H E W o V E n a r t o f a s i a

Susan Scollay

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O . 3

buddHist PriEst’s robE (KEsa), BROCADED TWILL WEAVE WITH SUPPLEMENTARY WEFT PATTERNING, SILK AND METALLIC THREAD,

122 X 198 CM., JAPAN, 18TH CENTURY, METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK.

5TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O . 3

was a flat, rectangular garment known in Sanskrit as a kashaya, in China as a jiasha and in the Japanese Buddhist tradition as a kesa.

The garment had ancient origins. Carved images from the Indus Valley dating to 2,000 BCE suggest that ascetics wore comparable garments at that time. Stone cylinder seals excavated in the region depict male figures seated in a posture of yogic meditation similar to that portrayed in images of the Buddha 2,000 years later. All kesa were characterised by a distinctive structure of patches of fabric, either 7 or 9, pieced together in strips around a central column. It was crucial that the fabric was discarded or cut up from something else so that it had no material value. But over time, wealthy donors gained merit by giving expensive cloth to monasteries – or individual monks or nuns – to be cut up for kesa.

The illustrated silk fabric highlighted with metal-covered thread used for the body of the Japanese kesa depicts swallows among willow branches on a reverse-swastika fret ground. In Buddhist thought the reverse swastika was a symbol of infinity. The corner and central patches with pine cones on a gold ground come from a different fabric, possibly Noh theatre robes or some other luxurious garment. Patched as required and symbolic of the renunciation of material wealth, but bearing delicate images and motifs previously associated with an elite, the formulaic structure of the kesa, rather than its images, acted as a text conveying its meaning. So the garments fashioned in this way sent messages not only coded in the images painted, woven or embroidered on their surfaces, but also by their shape and means of construction and the fact that they were translations – ie ‘carried across’ – from one owner to another, thereby signifying another purpose, a different meaning.

This applied too to some motifs, such as the çintemani design, that originated in the context of Central Asian Buddhism and was reinterpreted centuries later at the courts of the Islamic Ottoman sultans in Thrace and Anatolia. Some of the mechanisms involved in this cultural translation resulted from the exchanges that took place along the northern border with present-day China when nomadic Turko-Mongol people from the north began to move south. Despite the building of the fortified Great Wall in an attempt to keep the invaders out, the settled Chinese, with their vastly inferior horses, had difficulty in warding off the mounted Turkic invaders. Thus began a mutually-beneficial exchange of nomad horses for Chinese silk; an exchange that had long lasting consequences for the history of textiles in Asia.

The çintemani design is characterised by either a combination of three round balls and two wavy lines, or three balls and two wavy lines standing alone. The wavy lines were derived from the stripes of a tiger pelt, and the three dots from those of the leopard, both animals associated with power in ancient Iran and Central Asia. In the medieval Persian epic, the Shahnama, the warrior hero, Rustam, was usually depicted wearing a tiger skin robe and/or headgear. Frescos dating to the 7th century in Central Asia depict Bodhisattvas (Buddhist saints) adorned with tiger stripes and the three-ball emblem.

As the Turkic tribes moved westwards from Central Asia from the 7th century, many of them converted to Islam from Buddhism and in the process the çintemani motif became associated less with strength of the spirit and more with political power. The great 14th-century Turko-Mongol leader, Timur (or Tamerlane as he was known in Europe), used the motif extensively at his court in Samarkand,

and his descendents, the Mughal emperors of India, were familiar with its symbolism. Tipu Sultan (1750–99), the renowned ruler of the kingdom of Mysore, who died defending his territory from troops of the British East India Company, made extensive use of tiger stripes and the çintemani motif as a personal emblem in his clothing and court decor. But it was the Ottoman Turkic dynasty in Anatolia who re-interpreted it, from the pages of manuscripts of the Timurid workshop tradition. They translated the motif wholeheartedly onto court costume, carpets and textiles – and other media such as ceramic tiles, woodwork and precious metals – all designed to increase the power of Ottoman imperial image.

By using motifs from an older artistic vocabulary, they did not necessarily carry over the symbolic meanings of the originals, but rather highlighted the implied luxury and powerful Turkic identity of the çintemani design for their newly-formed court culture. As the Ottoman empire became more cosmopolitan and more

fragMEnt of silK VElVEt WitH gold-CoVErEd tHrEad (DETAIL), DISPLAYING THE çINTEMANI DESIGN, 32 X 42 CM.,

BURSA, OTTOMAN TURKEY, 1450–1550, VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

6 TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O . 3

powerful, reaching a cultural peak in the 16th century under Süleyman the Magnificent, court costume adopted a predominantly floral and highly-regulated design repertoire, but the çintemani design endured as a court favourite for textiles and carpets.

The capacity of textiles to translate meaning was exploited by the Ottomans and other Asian empires by introducing sumptuary laws and through manipulation of colour. Images from illustrated histories produced in the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent suggest the Ottomans used political messages conveyed by clothing in subtle and sophisticated ways, such as during the recruitment of Christian boys for education at the Ottoman court and eventual life-long service to the empire. Under this system, known as the devşirme, Ottoman officials and Janissary troops selected suitable candidates from the many Christian towns throughout the Balkans who were subject to the jurisdiction of the sultan.

An official recorded the recruits’ ages and family details and then, in front of their grieving families and fellow townspeople, the newly levied boys were dressed in special red robes. This ritual spectacle mimicked the ceremonies carried out at court when luxurious robes of honour were presented as rewards for exemplary service or to secure

loyalty. The distinctive red colour of the fabric from which the children’s robes were made was used extensively at the Ottoman court for investiture and to signal political power. It was also the spiritually significant colour of the bektaşi dervish brotherhood to which most Janissaries were aligned. Once identically robed in red in full view of their local community, the boys were clearly identified as members of a distinct group and marked as the property of the sultan and, by extension, the Ottoman state and the realm of Islam.

The dye that produced the colour of the devşirme children’s robes is one that became highly prized in 18th century Europe as ‘Turkey red’ or ‘rouge d’Andrinople’. Its production was a specialty of Edirne, the imperial capital of the Ottomans from 1360 to 1453 – a city better known to Europeans as Adrianople. The curators of a recent Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition in New York argue that the year 1453, when the Ottoman Turks took Constantinople and moved their capital there from Edirne, was pivotal in the global trade in textiles. Exhibits in Interwoven Globe: the Worldwide Textile Trade 1500–1800 support the idea that overland trade networks along the ‘Silk Route’ to Constantinople/Istanbul and into Europe via Venice were threatened by Ottoman/

Venetian rivalry, and thus promoted new sea routes to the Spice Islands and South East Asia.

Thereafter, a different range of exotic textiles, especially painted and printed Indian cotton textiles, began to circulate further afield. These were far superior to anything being produced in Europe at that time – and as their designs began to be ‘translated’ to meet market forces in Asia as well as in Europe, they became a source of inspiration for European manufacturers and for what Europeans later began to describe as ‘fashion’ (Lemire and Rielo 2008: 888).

This is a summary of the keynote lecture given at the TAASA symposium, Symbolism and Imagery in Asian Textiles at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Saturday 19 July, 2014.

Dr Susan Scollay is an independent art historian and

curator. She is an elected Fellow of the Royal Asiatic

Society and a contributing editor to the international

journal, HALI: Carpet, Textile and Islamic Art.

rEfErEnCEsBarber, Elizabeth Wayland, 1994. Women’s Work: The First Twenty

Thousand Years. W.W. Norton, New York.

Hartel, Herbert, 1982. Along the Ancient Silk Routes: Central Asian

Art from the West Berlin State Museums. Metropolitan Museum of

Art, New York.

Irwin, Robert, 2000. Night Horses and the Desert. New York:

The Overlook Press.

Lemire, Beverley and Giorgio Riello. ‘East and West: Textiles and

Fashion in Eurasia’, Journal of Social History, Summer 2008,

887–916.

Scollay, Susan. ‘Clothing as a Political Tool in the Ottoman Empire’,

Journal of Historical and European Studies, Vol.1, 2007, 77–91.

Xinru Liu, 1988. Ancient India and Ancient China: Trade and

Religious Exchanges AD 1–600, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

rustaM figHts tHE WHitE dEMon (dEtail), FOLIO FROM FIRDAUSI, SHAHNAMA, COPIED IN SHIRAz

C. 1430 FOR IBRAHIM SULTAN, BODLEIAN LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

KnottEd PilE CarPEt WitH çintEMani dEsign and

stylisEd floWEr and VinE MEandEr bordEr (dEtail),

KONYA/KARAPINAR DISTRICT, OTTOMAN TURKEY, 18TH CENTURY.

PHOTO: SUSAN SCOLLAY


he range of motifs, techniques and materials characterising Balinese textiles

belong to a vast universe of symbolic meaning. As a place, the island of Bali is a potent symbol in itself: paradise to foreigners enchanted by the people and culture, to others an untainted society shaped by the adoption of Indic models of kingship and Hindu Buddhist worldviews or a Hindu enclave in a majority Muslim Indonesia. From a historical perspective, the narrative, symbolic and ornamental features of Balinese woven, embroidered and painted cloths are testimony to the movements of people, goods and ideas along the trade routes of Southeast Asia. However symbols, their messages and meanings, are subject to ongoing rearticulation and as such continue to play a vital role in contemporary Balinese cultural and ritual life.

This brief survey is intended to identify some possible approaches to thinking about symbolism in Balinese textiles. Taken on face value, symbolism relates to the figural properties of cloth and what is depicted in terms of an iconography and artistic vocabulary common to the visual arts, architecture, written texts and performance genres. In this sense a key aspect of the symbolic universe to which Balinese textiles belong relates to narrative, whether stories of indigenous origin or accretions of the Indian epics. The complex forms of narrative congruence between the various art forms represent a means of communicating that is bound up with the oral telling of stories.

The figures depicted on cloths relate to the shadow-puppet theatre (wayang), both in terms of the manner of their depiction (in profile or in three-quarter view) and the stories they refer to. Key episodes from this corpus of widely known narratives are familiar to many Balinese so textiles are able to refer to these narratives in an abbreviated or shorthand manner. For instance, the single image of flaming demon heads found on many textiles (such as the breast or shoulder cloth depicted on p8) may be understood in the context of the creation story of the Adiparwa, when the gods decapitate the head of Kala Rau to prevent him from swallowing the elixir of immortality. With some drops of the elixir still in his mouth when his head was severed from his body, Kala Rau’s head becomes immortal and thereafter he seeks revenge on the sun and moon by devouring them and producing eclipses. The

snake (naga) depicted on the cloth is associated with the same world creation story as the snakes formed the ropes attached to Mount Meru, when the gods carried the mountain from the island of Java to Bali.

Balinese are also able to identify most figures depicted on cloths as character types, recognisable by iconographic indicators of social status. While headdress and hairstyle are particularly important in this regard it is notable that on painted cloths, a tradition emanating from the village of Kamasan in East Bali, costume pattern is not one of the attributes dictated by convention. The motifs or patterns on the costumes of individual characters are one of the few aspects that makers can vary at will, with the exception of a few key characters who are recognisable with reference to their textile motifs. The mighty figure of bima is always dressed in the potent black and white checked-cloth

(kain poleng), along with his servants Mredah and Twalen. In the illustrated example, a flag (kober) dating from the early 20th century depicts Bima’s father, the god Beiyu, who is distinguishable from his son solely by the god-spot on his forehead. While being dressed in the black and white loincloth conveys a clear message of his potency, the artist has emphasised this aspect of his character by draping a cloth with the same pattern around his neck (with a snake) and dressing him in a pair of red and white checked pants.

The double-ikat cloths produced in the village of Tenganan also belong to the shared repository of wayang imagery. Recalling stone relief sculptures found on 13th-14th century East Javanese Majapahit temples, the design known as wayang kebo is characterised by a central four-pointed mandala enclosing a stepped rectangle, which divides the cloth into semi-circular quadrants. The two scenes within each quadrant are a mirror image

T

t E x t i l E s i n t H E s y M b o l i C u n i V E r s E o f b a l i

Siobhan Campbell

flag (kOBER), KAMASAN, NATURAL PIGMENT ON COTTON CLOTH, 67X79CM.

FORGE COLLECTION AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM E074237, PHOTO EMMA FURNO


brEast or sHouldEr ClotH (ANTENg or cERIk), NEGARA, BALI, SILK, GOLD THREADS, SUPPLEMENTARY WEFT, 53.5 X 206 CM. COLLECTION DR JOHN YU, AC. PHOTO TIM CONNOLLY

of each other and contain human figures, depicted with their bodies in three-quarter view and their heads in profile.

On many examples the figures are in groups of three. In a more unusual example (not depicted), there are only two figures: of a priest and, possibly, one devotee. The priestly figure , recognisable by the mitre on his head, appears to be in homage before the figure of a refined male, with the ‘lobster-craw’ (supit urang) hairstyle, suggesting that he is a semi-divine character. Undoubtedly though, the capacity of these textiles to protect their users from ailments, pollution and danger is not so much related to the picture-like representation on them but to their materiality. To be used as part of a textile offering (rantasan), the textile must be unblemished and uncut, meaning that the cloth is taken off the loom as a continuous loop with a section of unwoven warp threads intact.

As in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago, imported Indian cloths also

have significant functions in ceremonial contexts. While the double ikat, silk patola cloths from Gujarat were prestige items and highly sought after, other types of imported textiles also function interchangeably and are amalgamated with locally produced cloths. One example illustrated in this article was collected by the late anthropologist Anthony Forge in 1979 from a family temple in Satria, Klungkung.

The rectangular centrepiece is part of what must have been a larger piece of imported Indian cotton textile, hand painted with dyes and a mordant. The floral rosette on the Indian centrepiece appears frequently in the Balinese artistic lexicon, here it is seen repeated between one pair of birds in the Balinese border design and also between the feet of beiyu on the cloth (flag or Kober) discussed previously.

A cloth border has been hand sewn around the centrepiece and painted with red and light blue pigments and a black ink outline.

The outer design features two pairs of birds and pairs of flaming heads (karang gelap) with obtruding eyes, large teeth and extended tongues. While the latter signify lightning, they also recall the headless figure of Kala Rau mentioned above, and are often seen on the entrance gateways to temples. Accentuating the architectural iconography, the double curl ornament between each head resembles the ornamentation found on the tops of many temple gateways (pucak paduraksa).

The rectangular cloths (langse) used as curtains to screen offering platforms also combine painted textiles and imported printed fabric. Paintings by Kamasan artists on white cotton cloth are made into curtains with the addition of lengths of imported fabric. The other important component of these curtains are the Chinese coins (kepeng) with a hole in the middle sewn along the top of the fabric to function as curtain rings. These coins were once used as currency and tied together on strings of two hundred coins, but are now made in Bali and serve a ceremonial function as money given to the gods. They are composed of five metals symbolising the gods: steel for Wisnu; silver for Iswara; copper for Brahma; bronze for Mahadewa, and gold for Siwa.

Chinese stories have also made their way into the narratives depicted on Balinese textiles, with the story of the ‘butterfly lovers’ or Sampik and Eng Tae being particularly popular on the embroidered cloths (kain sulaman) of West Bali (Fischer and Cooper 1998: 87-89). This story, serialised in Javanese language newspapers in the late 19th century with Balinese versions circulating around the same time, relates the tragedy of a girl called Eng Tae who disguises herself as a man in order to attend a male school, where she meets fellow student Sampik. The women who make these cloths often facilitate specific identification of the figures they depict by including text on the cloth.

SITA’S ORDEAL BY FIRE, LANGSE, ARTIST NYOMAN LAYA, KAMASAN, NATURAL PIGMENT ON COTTON CLOTH, 91X225CM.

FORGE COLLECTION AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM E074169, PHOTO EMMA FURNO


A unique chance to acquire beautiful things at affordable prices. Carpets,

kilims, embroideries, hangings, costume items, tribal weavings and more from Turkey, Central

Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Southeast Asia and elsewhere.

saturday 8 november 2014

St Mathias Church Hall471-475 Oxford St Paddington NSW

10 am – 3 pm

be early!

further information atwww.rugsociety.org.au

Unexpected Treasures: oriental rugs and

textiles bazaar

The Oriental Rug Society of NSW presents

This article has identified an important element in the way Balinese eyes appreciate textiles which relates particularly to the implicit recognition of narratives. By emphasising symbols as a form of communication linked to narrative, it is possible to appreciate that the makers and users of Balinese textiles value them as conveying religious or spiritual allegiances, historical accounts, political commentaries and life stories. This is particularly evident on textiles where particular episodes and characters are isolated, making a single image stand for something.

However, understanding symbolism and meaning is not simply a matter of decoding elements of the narrative content, it depends on a further range of interpretive possibilities related to the choice of particular narratives and episodes. Some textile producers see their role as didactic, with a responsibility to make supposedly mythological narratives significant by applying their messages to present-day concerns. In this sense they encourage the viewers and wearers of their cloths to elicit meanings by reference and association and they may also play visual images and textual associations against each other. Entering this world of Balinese symbolism with foreign eyes challenges us to think about Balinese knowledge systems

and about ways of understanding and interpreting textiles that leave little doubt as to their ongoing importance in articulating Balinese worldviews.

This is a summary of a talk given at the TAASA symposium, Symbolism and Imagery in Asian Textiles at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Saturday 19 July, 2014.

Siobhan Campbell completed her postgraduate study

on Balinese art in the Department of Indonesian

Studies at the University of Sydney in 2013. She has

recently curated an exhibition of Indonesian textiles,

Encounters with Bali: A Collector’s Journey, Indonesian

Textiles from the Collection of Dr. John Yu AC and Dr.

George Soutter, AM, at Mosman Art Gallery and has

been awarded a 2014 Endeavour Research Fellowship

to conduct further fieldwork on material culture in Bali.

[[email protected]]

rEfErEnCEsJoseph Fischer and Thomas Cooper, 1998. The Folk Art of Bali: The

Narrative Tradition, Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur.

tEMPlE ClotH, SATRIA, KLUNGKUNG, NATURAL PIGMENT ON COTTON CLOTH, 39X54CM. FORGE COLLECTION AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM E076400, PHOTO EMMA FURNO


he boteh motif, now commonly known as paisley pattern, is as familiar to us

as stripes, polka dots and herringbone. Resembling a rounded leaf or teardrop whose pointed tip curls gently over, the boteh motif is strongly associated, by students of textile history, with the Kashmir shawl industry and, from the late 1700s, with the production of imitative shawls in European centres, including the town of Paisley in southern Scotland.

The development of the boteh motif in Kashmir and its transmission to Europe is a fascinating tale that can be extended backwards in time to seek its ancestry in ancient Babylon and/or Persia and forward in time to look at more recent and contemporary incarnations. For simplicity, the term boteh will in the main be used throughout, although over time and place it has also been called pine, cone, pinecone, floral boteh and cone boteh, as well as leaf, teardrop and in Kashmir itself buta, which means flower in Hindi. In southern India, Tamils call this motif mankolam meaning mango motif and in Central Asia it is a bodum or almond. To American and British quilters, the boteh motif is Persian pickle and british pear respectively.

The origins of the botehIt has been argued that the origin of the boteh can be found in ancient Babylon, where teardrop forms symbolised the growing shoots of the nourishing date palm, then revered as the tree of life. Boteh is in fact a Persian word meaning a plant, while boteh jegdeh is Persian for both the pinecone motif itself and the cypress tree, a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity. Attention has also been drawn to the wing shape of the mythological Persian simurgh, the benevolent creature that became the symbol of the Sassanians, who ruled from around 200 to 650 CE. The simurgh was said to be a distributor of seeds, and so relates symbolically to the cypress tree as tree-of-life that appeared towards the end of the Sassanian period (Reilly 1987, Eduljee 2014).

Further evidence of the motif’s Persian lineage are the stylised, boteh-shaped leaves in silk fragments of the 6th-7th centuries found at Akhmim in Upper Egypt, which had come briefly under Sassanian control. As this motif is not found elsewhere in Egypt, it seems likely that these fabrics came from Persia. Although proof will remain elusive, it is feasible that the

motif spread east from babylon into Persia and thence to India and Kashmir. At the same time, the curling rounded boteh form can perhaps simply be recognised as an archetypal symbol of the life force and its renewal (Reilly 1987, Eduljee 2014).

The Kashmir shawl industry, throughout which the boteh flourished, probably began in the mid 1500s and lasted for a little over 300 years. The industry has been divided into four periods, as determined by the prevailing political masters: the first is the Mughal period (1586-1753), followed by the Afghan (1753-1819), Sikh (1819-1846) and Dogra (1846-1877) periods (Irwin 1955, Ames 1986).

The Mughal period (1586-1753) Mughal shawls of the 1600s and 1700s are typically quite plain with a border at each end that features a row of slender naturalistic flowering plants, complete with roots. These

Mughal flowers combined with Persian floral design and developed into a more compact floral motif, with a tilting flower head at the top. The number of flowers growing from a single plant gradually increased and in the mid 1700s, towards the end of the Mughal period, the outline of this floral motif, the buta, began to take on the more formal outline we associate with the boteh. Shawl design, including the boteh motif, developed and changed in tandem with the industry itself which, from the late 1700s, saw the beginning of trade in shawls to Europe, the intervention of European entrepreneurs in Kashmiri production, acute competition for the same market between Kashmiri and European producers and, with a change in European women’s fashion, the eventual collapse of both industries.

From a technological point of view it is still uncertain when the characteristic kani

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f r o M P i n E C o n E t o Pa i s l E y: t H E u b i Q u i t o u s B O T E H

Christina Sumner

Wool sHaWl, JACQUARD WEAVE, PAISLEY, SCOTLAND, 1860-70.

COLLECTION: MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS & SCIENCES, SYDNEY. PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN.


technique (a twill tapestry weave with double weft interlock) was first practised in Kashmir, but the sophistication of surviving kani fragments of the early 1600s suggests that it was in use by at least the late 1500s, when the Mughal emperor Akhbar invaded Kashmir. Akhbar ruled Kashmir for 19 years and took a personal interest in the shawl weaving industry. It seems likely that kani originated in Turkestan, where related techniques were used, and was brought to India in the 1520s in the entourage of Akhbar’s grandfather Babur. The material traditionally used for Kashmir shawls is pashm, also known as pashmina or cashmere, from the domesticated mountain goat (Capra hircus) found in Ladakh and western Tibet (Irwin 1955, Ames 1986).

The Afghan period (1753-1819)In 1753, an Afghan invasion brought an end to the Mughal period in Kashmir. Under Afghan rule, the naturalistic Mughal buta grew smaller and increasingly stylised, and end borders appeared with small repeating motifs rather than the traditional single row of plants. At around the same time, a similar boteh form based on leaf shapes was developing independently in Persian decorative arts and brought its own influence to bear on the subsequent transformation of Kashmiri buta to boteh.

Towards the end of the 1700s, some exquisitely soft and beautifully woven Kashmir shawls began to trickle into Europe in the baggage of returning officials, traders and travellers. In India, these shawls had been primarily worn by men, but in Europe they were rapidly appropriated by women as a fashion accessory. Kashmiri shawl fabric was well suited to the light cottons and classical simplicity of women’s dress in the late 1700s. When napoleon and his officers returned from a campaign bearing Kashmir shawls as gifts, the Empress Josephine became an avid collector. There are a number of fine portraits of French women of the early 1800s wearing Kashmir shawls, and these serve as an excellent documentary resource.

Although these shawls were exorbitantly expensive, the demand in Europe in the early 1800s soon outstripped supply. European entrepreneurs consequently sought to influence Kashmiri production methods in order to increase the output. In France, manufacturers were quick to seize the economic opportunity presented by the shortage, and competed to produce shawls specifically designed to appeal to European tastes. Production centres were also established in Vienna and Russia. Shawl making across the English Channel began in Norwich and Edinburgh in about 1780, in the

mid Afghan period, with Paisley in southern Scotland following in 1805. There were difficulties however; it was almost impossible to duplicate the exquisite and intricate kani weave and pashmina was unavailable in Europe. The extraordinary variety of materials and blends used by European shawl manufacturers is telling evidence of their vain attempts at duplication (Irwin 1955, Ames 1986, Reilly 1987).

The Sikh period (1819-1846)The beginning of the Sikh period, in the early 1800s, was one of dramatic stylistic change for Kashmir shawls. Prior to this, design evolution including that of the boteh had been relatively gradual, but designs now became much more crowded, the botehs elongated and sinuous, and the colours rich and dark. In order to increase the output of shawls, to reduce costs, and so maintain a share in the European trade, various labour-saving

devices were introduced over the years in Kashmir. One Sikh period innovation was to use embroidery for creating pattern, rather than simply for joining pieces together and disguising irregularities. Embroidered or amli shawls could be produced for about one third the cost of woven shawls and, at least initially, escaped the heavy duty on shawls imposed by the government.

In 1830 the jacquard loom was introduced and European shawl design became more and more complex as borders encroached on plain centres until pattern eventually filled the entire surface of the shawl. Even the most intricate of patterns could be produced rapidly and the end product was consequently much cheaper. The looms themselves were expensive however, and ownership of the industry became more and more restricted to managers and entrepreneurs, and less and less within reach of the weavers themselves.

PasHMina sHaWl ON MANNEQUIN, kANI WEAVE, KASHMIR C. 1820.

COLLECTION: MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS & SCIENCES, SYDNEY. PHOTO: SUE STAFFORD


In general, French taste dominated shawl design and shawl motifs had a distinctly European air. Such was the competition between producers for their share of the market that the designs of one manufacturer were frequently imitated by another. Both Norwich and Edinburgh complained that Paisley pirated their designs, with the result that in 1840 the government was persuaded to allow protection under the patents system. However production in Paisley soon eclipsed output at other British centres and, by 1850, the majority of shawls available for purchase in britain were made in Paisley (Irwin 1955, Ames 1986, Levi- Strauss 1986 and Reilly 1987).

The Dogra period (1846-1877)In 1846, after a battle with the Sikhs, the British handed over rule of Kashmir to the Dogra prince Raja Gulab Singh. During this period the local shawl trade was dominated by French merchants who had settled there

earlier in the century along with their own pattern books. By about 1850, the designs used by Kashmir shawl weavers were mainly a local interpretation of French jacquard patterns featuring elongated botehs among a densely ornamented ground.

By the mid 1860s, although production continued in both India and Europe for some years, the slide into oblivion had begun. In Kashmir, the long-established tradition of fine shawl production had been eclipsed by drastic changes to design and fabrication. In Europe, the introduction of the jacquard loom and also printed shawls had brought their price down to a level that almost all women could afford. Fashion leaders sought new directions and the crinoline began to shrink, first into the bustle of the 1870s and then the narrow trailing skirts of the 1890s, neither of which was improved by the addition of a draped shawl. The hundred-year fashion was over, and the industries which

supported it, in both Kashmir and Europe, collapsed. While European jacquard looms were soon put to other uses, the Kashmiri industry had been permanently changed. The legacy of Kashmir remains however in the traditional Asian boteh motif which has - as paisley pattern - earned itself a place in the designer’s classical repertoire (Irwin 1955, Ames 1986 and Reilly 1987).

Contemporary expressionsFrom the early to late 1900s and into this century, the boteh motif has again come into its own, as variations on its simple theme continue to proliferate globally. Paisley pattern was hugely popular in dress, accessories and soft furnishings in the 1920s for example while swirling, wildly colourful paisley was a prominent component of psychedelic art of the 1960s and is now enjoying a reappearance in the current fashion for retro style. The boteh remains a perennial favourite on men’s ties and turns up regularly worldwide in, for example, Indian saris and jewellery, English wallpaper, Central Asian embroideries, Persian shawls and Australian block prints. Gang affiliation is sometimes demonstrated by matching paisley bandannas, while the motif has also managed to achieve notoriety among an element of the religious far right who believe contact with the paisley pattern endangers their immortal soul through its association with such phenomena as India, goat hair, prayer rugs and magicians. Finally, the Kashmiri government is now reviving the fine art of kani weaving with some considerable success; sadly however in these beautiful contemporary Kashmir shawls botehs are curiously scarce.

This is a summary of a talk given at the TAASA symposium, Symbolism and Imagery in Asian Textiles at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Saturday 19 July, 2014.

Christina Sumner OAM is a foundation member of

TAASA and formerly Principal Curator, Design and

Society at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Her

research interests focus on the traditional textiles of

Central, South and Southeast Asia.

rEfErEnCEsAmes Frank, 1986. The kashmir Shawl, Antique Collectors’ Club,

Woodbridge, England.

Eduljee, K. E., http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/trade/

paisely.htm, accessed 12 July 2014.

Irwin, John, 1955. Shawls: a study in Indo-European influences,

Victoria & Albert Museum, London,.

Levi-Strauss, Monique, 1986. The Cashmere Shawl, Harry N. Abrams,

Inc., New York.

Reilly, Valerie, 1987. The official illustrated history: The Paisley Pattern,

Richard Drew, Glasgow.

Sumner, Christina. ‘From Kashmir to Paisley: the shawl trade and the

hundred years fashion’, The Australian Antique Collector, Jan-June

1993, pp.60-63.

PasHMina sHaWl ON MANNEQUIN (DETAIL), kANI WEAVE, KASHMIR C.1820.

COLLECTION: MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS & SCIENCES, SYDNEY. PHOTO: SUE STAFFORD.


achhuben Karna Rabari sits in a pool of sunlight in front of her home in Bhujodi,

central Kachchh (aka Kutch), Gujarat. She is quietly stitching together two hand woven lengths of cloth that will eventually become a shawl destined for a foreign buyer. Her fingers work deftly and she glances up only briefly as I sit down beside her. She is using machhi kanto (fishbone), the stitch that traditionally joins the two halves together. In direct contrast to her own plain black woollen shawl that identifies her seniority and her widowhood, this newer version is made of finely woven, white, Australian merino wool. Lachhuben has already decorated the piece with lines of fine black running stitch. Once this centre seam is completed, she will return the finished article to local weaver Shamji Vishram Valji who commissioned the work. Like many traditional villages in Kachchh, Bhujodi is made up of two separate yet interdependent communities: Harijan and Rabari that have existed side by side since it was founded. Thus, in its own unique way, this contemporary shawl represents the coming together of the two halves - a unique pairing that reaches far back in time.

According to the village historian’s records, Bhujodi was established in 1179 CE by a wandering pastoralist named Bhoja Rabari. However like all histories based on oral tradition, this remains open to interpretation and, as Shamji pointed out, this record simply serves as a marker for the official naming of the village. He believes Bhujodi was settled earlier but an official naming ceremony ensured that the village would flourish. And it did. Today Bhujodi is one of the oldest functioning traditional villages in a district that remains populated by the descendants of its first settlers - those who came to Kachchh in search of greener pastures.

During these early migrations of pastoral communities, Rabari and Megwhal (Harijan) groups moved in close proximity as they travelled from the hinterlands of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan and Sindh into Kachchh. Theirs is a historically symbiotic relationship; the former herded camels, goats and sheep and the latter were skilled weavers (vankars). In return for weaving cloth for the Rabari, who considered themselves a higher caste due to their ancestral ties with Rajput rulers, the weavers were given surplus wool for their own needs and land on which to farm. The

Rabari also closely oversaw any orders they placed and, according to Shamji, it was not uncommon for the customer to come to the loom and count the warp threads to ensure the quality of his or her product.

The original Rabari migrants eventually divided into three distinct groups: Kachhi Rabari who settled in the central parts of Kachchh, Dhebaria Rabari who live in the west and the eastern group of Vaghadia Rabari. Over the ensuing years each group evolved unique styles of dress that marked their distinct identities. Shawls remain the most visible point of difference. A practiced eye can tell at a glance to which group a woman belongs and her marital status by its style.

The Rabari shawl, locally called a ludi, is a large veil cloth that covers the head and the entire length of the body. Due to the narrow width of the loom necessary to produce a stable weave, traditional ludis consist of two narrow pieces each measuring two and a half yards and joined by hand along their length. In some communities the centre seam and borders are embroidered with auspicious motifs that signify their beliefs. These include symbols to protect against bad influences and to attract prosperity and fertility. Vaghadia Rabari traditionally embroidered raised

medallions on their shawls into which spices were tightly packed. I have been offered two explanations for this practice; one Rabari elder explained that they warded off evil spirits while a local collector said they were filled with tobacco to ward off insects. There is a likely element of truth in both.

The ludi created for a bride’s wedding is a significant part of her dowry and Lachhuben recalls the making of hers with great clarity. “I am 85 now” she tells me “I was 15 when I moved from my village, Makhana, into my husband’s home here in Bhujodi.” She adjusts her shawl and I glimpse a thinning hairline common to women who have worn the heavy woollen garment for their entire adult lives. She continues her tale with pride as she recounts how she shore her own sheep and gave the wool to a local weaver. “After the vankar gave me the finished work I sent it to the Khatris (dyeing community) in Nakhatrana. They made the best black dye.” While the original shawl is long gone, Lachhuben assures me it was simple. “Only plain black wool and no bharat (embroidery) apart from the stitch I used to join the pieces together. Same as this!” She pushes the new piece at me and laughs.

“Why black wool?” I asked. I have often wondered how Rabari women cope in the

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V E i l s o f C H a n g E – r a b a r i W E d d i n g s H a W l s

Carole Douglas

DHEBARIA RABARI GROUP, MANDVI TOWN. © CAROLE DOUGLAS 2004


extreme heat of summer. According to Shamji’s interpretation of Lachhuben’s long response, the Rabari were gifted wool by Lord Krishna and hence regard it as the ‘pure’ fibre. The tradition of black rests in the annals of Rabari lore: it marks the ritual mourning for the death of a king and furthermore it is widely believed that this death was the event that provoked the Rabari’s migration into Kachchh.

Our conversation was interrupted by young children arriving home from school and we stopped for chai. A few younger women had also joined us and their arrival prompted me to ask Lachhuben about her daughters’ wedding shawls. She said that her elder daughter had purchased hers undyed from a hawker who came regularly from ‘outside’ the village. Her younger daughter had purchased hers directly in Bhujodi. No reason was given for this. However both shawls were tie-dyed by a Khatri from Moti Virani, who would regularly travel the many kilometres from his village to Bhujodi to collect orders before returning home to fulfil them. On a different note, her granddaughter, who is preparing for her wedding next year, bought her shawl already tie-dyed in the local market. In just one generation the closed loop system that had existed for more than half a millennium between the Rabaris, Vankars and Khatris was unequivocally broken.

The patterns tied into traditional ludis reveal a set of complex codes that denote marital and maternal status. For example, Vaghadia Rabari women traditionally wear different designs during different phases of their married life. When I met with dyer, Iqbal Sumar Khatri of Samakhiali, he had brought along five rough woollen shawls tied in various designs; the first one was for the marriage day and each successive shawl signified the wearer’s number of children until the fourth child, at which time the original wedding shawl was worn again. For example the design on one shawl, morandi, is worn after the birth of the first child. The border motif is called ubhad-khabad which means ‘up and down’ and, as weaver Shamji pointed out, it refers to the terrain of Kachchh.

None of these shawls were joined or embroidered and, as Iqbal lamented, in these days of lightweight ready-made shawls, there is no longer any demand for his work. In a similar vein, contemporary Kachhi Rabari shawls are tie-dyed in red and black and frequently incorporate scorpion (fertility) and swastika (auspiciousness) motifs. And while Dhebaria Rabari were enforced to wear plain black due to a community ban on dowry embroidery, machine embroidered motifs are now in popular demand by brides to be. In the Dhebaria hub of Anjar, special stores

sell plain shawls and intricately machined designs for patches and borders and women spend considerable time choosing the right combinations. This fashion has allowed many Dhebaria women to substantially increase their household income by producing these embellishments on high-powered industrial sewing machines.

It is the natural progression of any vigorous culture for each generation to introduce change. Lachhuben’s granddaughter has taken a great leap in design. In her innovation, she is hand embroidering the border of her ludi on a wide piece of polyester that will later be attached to the end of her store bought woollen shawl. Lachhuben points out that she can later remove the border and turn it into a decoration for her home for, unlike herself, her granddaughter will not wear her wedding shawl more than once. Modernity manifests itself in many ways and while the younger generation has adapted to suit changing trends in their embellishment and use, woollen veil cloths are still mandatory wedding wear and continue to play a role in the property transfers of marriage.

I had brought along a contemporary wedding shawl for Lachhuben’s comment. It is liberally embellished with brightly coloured synthetic yarns, sequins and ricrac braid. While the

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EMBROIDERED MOTIF TO BE APPLIQUED ONTO KACHHI SHAWL. © CAROLE DOUGLAS 2002

MACHINE EMBROIDERED MOTIF AND SEAM, DHEBARIA RABARI.

© CAROLE DOUGLAS 2013


embroidery skills of the bride are evident in her rendition of bavaliyo (interlacing) stitch she has replaced mirrors with plastic sequins and the braid replaces the traditional zigzag pattern created with time-consuming chain stitch. The central join is machined using multi-coloured metallic thread. As we unfurl the shawl, the small crowd closes in. They examine the handwork carefully and tell me it is ‘saru che’, very good, as they admire its flair. When I ask Lachhuben about the sequins and braid she makes little comment except to note that one can buy these things easily in the market and, after all, it makes the work easier. And when I asked her opinion about the sheer quantity of embellishment she informs me that wedding shawls became more elaborate when Kachhi Rabaris were exposed to those of other groups. “When we saw them (Vaghadia) sometimes with their fancy shawls we began to put more work into ours.”

I brought forth a final shawl on which ochre and green tie-dyed patterns contrast strongly against its dark brown ground - the result of overdyeing with indigo. It is densely hand embroidered in predominantly yellow, orange and white cotton thread and its ends are weighted with mirrors anchored firmly in place with tightly packed chain stitch. It lies heavily on the head and shoulders - like a solid echo of the earth from which it sprang

- rough, warm and protective. Strategically placed along its centre seam are round motifs with small raised centres. Shamji sniffed at the mounds. “Ah” he said: “Dried tobacco I think – to keep moths away.” They both identified the shawl as being from Vaghad, the region that had perhaps brought some influence to bear on Kachhi style.

The morning had worn on and I could hear the clatter of lunch in preparation. Lachhuben was weary of visitors and it was time to take our leave. It occurred to me as I watched her carefully putting the white shawl to one side that the world of Rabari and vankars has certainly shifted on its axis. Rabari no longer shear their own sheep to supply wool to vankars to weave into ludis, in return giving them surplus wool for their own use. Instead, many entrepreneurial weavers such as Shamji Vishram Valji use Australian merino wool, imported via Rajasthan, and employ hundreds of Rabari women to embellish plain shawls with mirrors and stitch to supply a hungry market place. Khatris still figure in the equation although their traditions too have evolved. And who knows what the next generation will create? In the current Kachchh scenario of rapid industrialisation, access to technology and economic prosperity it will be interesting to observe in which direction the ludi will evolve.

NOTE: This article is based on fieldwork, interviews and friendship. Thanks to my colleague Aarati Halbe, Sahjeevan; Vankar Shamji Vishram Valji and Lachhuben Karna Rabari, Bhujodi; Vanka Rabari, collector, Bhujodi; Pankaj Shah, QASAB and Kuldip Gadhvi, Bhuj for their last minute checking of my translations. I also wish to acknowledge the many Rabari met on highways, in villages, homes and fields who have allowed me to take photographs and given me insights into a deeply traditional way of life.

Carole Douglas is an award winning textile artist,

educator and environmental advocate who has spent

the past 18 years travelling and working in India. Well

known for her ground breaking exhibition project

‘Resurgence’ (Manly Art Gallery and Museum 2003)

in aid of Indian artisans after the devastating Gujarat

earthquake, Carole has developed specialised tours to

the region to continue her support of traditional life

and livelihood. She also produces, under her company

label ‘Desert Traditions’, a range of goods that support

tradition, the environment and local enterprise.

‘MORANDI’ DESIGN DENOTES WEARER’S MARITAL STATUS.

© CAROLE DOUGLAS 2014HEAVILY EMBROIDERED BORDER TYPICAL OF VAGHAD SHAWLS. © CAROLE DOUGLAS 2006


ecorating one’s body with precious materials is perhaps universal cultural

behaviour among humans. However, the value placed on materials and designs can vary from culture to culture. The Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences in Sydney (also known as the Powerhouse Museum) is opening an exhibition titled A Fine Possession: jewellery and identity in September. The exhibition showcases a spectacular selection of over 700 pieces of jewellery from Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. It celebrates the central place of jewellery in people’s lives from antiquity to the present day, and from around the world. The objects on display are jewellery and body adornments sourced from major cultural institutions and many individual collectors as well as the Museum’s own collection.

Among the iconic and rarely seen items on display will be ancient Egyptian scarab jewels, a magnificent 19th century tiara and necklace made from exotic beetles, Australian gold-rush jewellery, Chinese kingfisher-feather and finely carved jade ornaments, a ‘Southern Cross’ diamond brooch in the form of Charles Kingsford-Smith’s legendary aircraft, and a necklace worn by nicole Kidman in the film Moulin Rouge. A striking range of students’ contemporary studio jewellery will complete the selection. The exhibition is organised into nine themes: Belief & Magic, Love & Death, Nature & Culture, Style & Revival, Gold & Identity, Status & Wealth, Men & Adornment, Modernity & Change and Revolution & Evolution. Objects from different cultures including Asian cultures will be shown in four of the nine sections.

The exhibition is a great opportunity to bring the Museum’s long-standing collection of Asian jewellery and body adornments out of the vault and on public display. Whilst Asian body adornments have rarely been the focus of any museum collection, the Museum has collected them since its establishment in 1879. This significant collection includes 170 Japanese combs and hairpins from the Edo (1603-1868) and Meiji (1868-1912) periods, nearly 400 Chinese and Japanese belt toggles, and a group of Chinese jade hairpins and belt hooks from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The Museum also holds Chinese kingfisherfeather inlaid hair ornaments, Miao silver alloy jewellery, Chinese Mandarin beads and hat finials, an Indonesian man’s ceremonial headpiece and Malaysian belt buckles or pendings.

To complement the storyline, selected items will be on loan from various private collectors including Chinese Mandarin hat finials from Ken and Judith Rutherford, Indian gold dowry necklaces from Anne Schofield and Chinese fingernail guards from Roger Grellman. Adelaide-based collectors and the authors of Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment: Australia, Oceania, Asia, Africa Truus and Joost Daalder are major lenders to the exhibition not only of Asian objects but also Pacific and African pieces.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, jewellery is defined as ‘personal ornaments, such as necklaces, rings, or bracelets that are typically made from or contain jewels and precious metal’. However, in the Asian context, jewellery can be more broadly understood. Whereas in Europe and many parts of the world, beautifying or adorning the body generally involves decorating bare skin such as the neck, wrist and fingers, in Asia jewellery seems to have developed somewhat differently, particularly in East Asia. Many items of jewellery evolved from being abstract talismanic items of personal adornment to being functional aspects of dress.

Some of the earliest known items include belt hooks, hairpins and earrings, as well as

mirrors, which played a role in adornment as reflectors of beauty and as objects worn or carried on the person. Social standing, personal taste and the availability of raw materials determined design and materials. For thousands of years, different items matured at different times, and to some degree their evolution was never complete, as objects continued to convey meaning even when they served a functional role.

Asia is a particularly culturally diverse region and expressions of identity cover a very broad spectrum. Different materials are considered ‘precious’ by different cultures. For example, the Chinese have favoured jade since ancient times and valued it more highly than precious metals such as gold. Jade was so highly valued that it was equated in importance with the king. The character for ‘king ( )’ in Chinese originated from the form of a string of jade beads and the character for ‘jade ( )’ is almost identical except for the additional dot.

Chinese artisans developed highly sophisticated techniques for carving jade; some examples shown in the exhibition are belt hooks, earrings and hairpins. In the 1st century CE, Xu Shen described jade (yu) as follows in his book Shuowenjiezi (Discussion of Writing and Explanations of Character):

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A F I N E P O S S E S S I O N : J E W E L L E R Y A N D I D E N T I T Y - a s i a n b o d y

a d o r n M E n t a t t H E P o W E r H o u s E M u s E u M

Min-Jung Kim and Christina SumnerCErEMonial HEadPiECE (laMba), SHEET GOLD ALLOY, REPOUSSÉ, SUMBA, INDONESIA, 1880-1950,

COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS AND SCIENCES. IMAGE COURTESY OF JANE TOWNSEND


Jade is the fairest of stones. It is endowed with five virtues. Charity is its lustre, bright yet warm; Rectitude is its translucency, revealing the colour and markings within; Wisdom is its pure and penetrating note when struck. It is courage, for it can be broken but does not bend; Equity is its sharp edges, which injure none.

(Xu Shen (58 CE – ca. 147 CE) translation adapted from Zheng Dekun)

Another distinctive feature in East Asia is that hair ornaments such as combs and hairpins are among the most popular forms of jewellery. This is probably due to the nature of Asian dress, in particular for the Chinese and Japanese, who tend not to reveal much skin, while their striking jet-black hair offers a background against which such jewels shine. The Chinese adored hair ornaments made from kingfisher feathers with their gloriously iridescent ultramarine to turquoise-blue hues. Kingfisher feathers were first featured in ornaments as early as the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) and, over time, Chinese artisans developed sophisticated techniques to create from them a variety of dress embellishments and accessories. Kingfisher feather jewellery was very highly valued and denoted status, wealth and royalty.

In the case of Japan, rings, necklaces and earrings had little or no place on the already elaborate traditional Japanese dress; as a result, lacquer combs (kushi) and hairpins (kanzashi) would have been the only additional embellishment. Yet these hair ornaments were a vital part of Japanese fashion as they expressed a woman’s character, social class and religion. There is an ancient Japanese proverb that clearly demonstrates the importance of these hair ornaments: ‘A woman’s hair is her life’.

The exhibition A fine possession also features ornaments from the Museum’s collection that were worn exclusively by men, including Chinese and Japanese belt toggles and the silver Malay belt buckle. In some of the Indonesian islands, on ceremonial occasions, aristocratic men wore spectacular headdresses, neckpieces and frontal ornaments which indicated their social status and prowess in such pursuits as communicating with the ancestors and headhunting.

Like the crescent-shaped, buffalo-horned gold lamba from the island of Sumba, these heirloom pieces were generally made from precious

materials. Gold has male connotations and was only worked by men, while the repoussée imagery on the lamba shows attributes viewed as male, such as horses with riders, eagles and the sun. Such an heirloom piece conferred special powers on the owner as, through its inherent supernatural attributes, a high status man could commune with the ancestral spirits on behalf of his community.

Collectively, the Asian and other non-European objects displayed in A Fine Possession balance the strong Western content, reminding visitors to the exhibition of the

universality of our enduring passion for adornment. The exhibition opens to the public on 23 September 2014 and will be on display for 12 months.

Min-Jung Kim is Curator of Asian Arts and Design

(Design and Society) and Christina Sumner is the

former Principal Curator of the Powerhouse Museum

of Applied Arts & Sciences, Sydney.

rEfErEnCEsXu Shen, (58 CE – ca. 147 CE). Shuowenjiezi (Discussion of Writing

and Explanations of Character’) on: http://www.britannica.com/

EBchecked/topic/112548/Chinese-jade. Accessed 15 July 2014

KingfisHEr fEatHEr HairPin, GILT METAL, KINGFISHER FEATHER, GLASS, SEED PEARL, CHINA, C.1800, GIFT OF MISS E A MACDONALD, 1979,

COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS AND SCIENCES. IMAGE COURTESY OF GEOFF FRIEND

bEloW: JadE bElt HooK WitH ‘CHi’ dragon Motif, VARIEGATED JADEITE, CHINA, 1700S-1880S, GIFT OF MRS ROSEMARY D CONACHER,

1966, COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS AND SCIENCES. IMAGE COURTESY OF SOUTHA BOURN


cOMMON THREADS (LUGG, 2005), (CO-CURATED BY LUGG AND LEIGHTON-WHITE, 2005) INSTALLATION IMAGE,

BELGER ARTS CENTER IN KANSAS CITY, USA.

oth Ruth Hadlow and Wendy Lugg are Australian textiles artists who use samples

of traditional textile material culture as conceptual and actual starting points in their own textile exhibition practices. This article examines Ruth Hadlow’s approach to West-Timorese woven textiles in her multi-faceted work Patternbook (2005-ongoing), and Wendy Lugg’s to Japanese hand-stitched Boro in her series and internationally touring exhibition Common Threads (1999-2005). Each involves ‘reading’ and reflecting on individual pieces: a silent dialogue, which is then interpolated into their own work. The most intriguing aspect of these encounters is the artists’ capacity to deeply and irrevocably respond at both the conceptual and physical level.

Textile artists often employ samples of material culture as a basis for primary research within their practice. However, when cultural items are thus used, it can be easy to assume a simplistic process: straightforward plundering and superficial re-appropriation. For Hadlow and Lugg, however, a relationship with a textile cultural sample is ongoing and conversational: the site not of conclusion or containment, but of complex unfolding. Such research practice moves far beyond aesthetic analysis, relying rather upon a set of terms and methodologies. Some of Hadlow and Lugg’s unique approaches to objects of textile material culture are tacit, but others are more corporeal or simply just practical in their application.

Hadlow has described the use of traditional West-Timorese woven textiles as “objects to think with” (2011: 75), while Lugg talks of “working-in-response-to” and alongside traditional Boro and Sashiko Japanese textiles (1995). It is these conceptual devices, which characterise the work of both artists. For Hadlow and Lugg, then, it can be seen that the physical sample of textile material cultural is both an object of traditional aesthetic influence but also, more uniquely, a ‘conceptual tool’. The item itself becomes the site of research.

While Hadlow physically maps the space between two cultures in her artwork through pieces of traditional Timorese hand-woven cloth, Lugg intuitively investigates used, worn and repaired Japanese Boro cloths, re-positioning them within and alongside her own practice. Such processes come about through the initial encounter, where the cultural textile item enables a re-seeing

or conversation. Between the object and the artist a dialogue begins, in which each unfolds in response to the other. The result is not a reflection of existing culture or a representation of the artist at a particular point in time, but rather an entirely new creation made possible only by combination: what each enables the other to be.

Hadlow engages with traditional West Timorese textiles to explore conceptual, physical and philosophical ideas within her work. Her practice encompasses several distinctive modes: visual textile-based temporal installation; writing; digital book publication, and performative lectures. “As part of my doctoral research I wanted to conduct an exploration into approaching West Timorese textiles as poetic generative material rather than as cultural artifacts”, Hadlow explains. “Traditional textiles are usually seen from the perspectives of the museum, the collector, or the anthropologist; I was interested in considering them from the perspective of an artist, as objects to think with” (Hadlow 2011: 75).

This approach can be understood as intrinsic to Hadlow’s process. It is also addressed by Mark Ingold in his inter-disciplinary text Making: Anthropology, Archeology, Art and Architecture:

“What then is the relation between thinking and making? To this, the theorist and the craftsman would give different answers. It is not that the former only thinks and

the latter only makes, but that the one makes through thinking and the other thinks through making.” (Ingold 2013: 6).

He describes this notion of ‘thinking through making’ as an “art of inquiry” (Ibid) focusing on the materiality of craft-based making practices such as those of Hadlow and Lugg. This explanation provides an insight into the relationship between artists and their materials: an interchange of ideas through different modes of communication. However, can such an understanding be applied more broadly to conceptual visual artists working in contemporary textiles? Can Hadlow and Lugg’s methodologies, in selecting and responding to cultural textile items offer a new perception for ‘an art of inquiry’ and new ways of working and thinking?

It could be said of Hadlow and Lugg, that each component of their work propels the other. For it is the cultural origins of the textile items, and their implicit craft-based conventions that compel such conceptual readings and re-readings. The items are not selected for their subversive capacity, but rather for the stories they embody, to which these artists respond.

While cultural textile objects offer a rich and varied provenance to draw from, the artist must engage only with what speaks most clearly to them. Hadlow discusses how she seeks to dislocate from a sense of ‘otherness’ and romanticism within cultural objects (Hadlow 2006). She chooses not to incorporate

B

i n C o n V E r s a t i o n : a s i a n C u l t u r a l o r i g i n s i n t H E

t E x t i l E W o r K o f r u t H H a d l o W a n d W E n d y l u g g

Belinda von Mengersen


physical objects within her work: instead she conducts a live conversation with the artifact, incorporating the gleanings into her pieces. This is done in a cyclic manner: examining the derivation of motifs in cloth.

Of particular interest were West Timorese textiles showing a combination of traditional and non-traditional motifs used in contemporary back-strap loom hand-woven cloths with a supplementary weft pattern. Hadlow discovered that an old cross-stitch pattern book was being used as a resource for additional motifs for the supplementary weft weavings. She then made contemporary artwork and a digital book Patternbook (Hadlow 2005) as a type of performative encounter with these cultural objects. This project was conducted in a number of parallel ways, overlaying motifs and re-seeing through the resultant intersection. As she explains:

“In Patternbook (2005) the drawings were comprised of penciled handwriting in English and Indonesian, in the form of X’s, which in turn formed motifs derived from a cross-stitch pattern book lent to me by a Timorese weaver, Ina Lalak. She had incorporated the European cross stitch motifs into her weaving, translating what can be described as a foreign text and, through that process, creating what I think of as a material creole (2006).”

She describes how the performative installation evolved “… on a day-by-day basis, working with improvisation and the notion of the diary/notebook as a space to record and explore” (Hadlow 2006). Images from this work were later overlaid with written texts about her shifting cultural perceptions and a sound track to create an interactive virtual book, also called Patternbook (Hadlow 2010). Hadlow’s process allows the viewer to encounter the phenomenological result of the original dialogue, resulting in ‘lived experience’ made visible: a rare kind of artistic exposure.

Lugg began working with Japanese Boro textiles by deconstructing and reconstructing them. They were then made into new pieces, mirroring her subjective take on the Australian Wagga quilt and the practice of ‘making-do’. The contemporary quilt pieces that she constructed were hand-stitched, mimicking the running lines of Boro and Sashiko. A perceptive shift occurred when she began to exhibit the found objects and her own constructed textile quilts together. This provided the viewer with a context, whereby the ’original’ item could become a kind of teaching tool showing the esoteric beauty of the other.

The Common Threads exhibition (1999-2005) comprised historical, utilitarian Japanese textiles stitched for everyday use, and Lugg’s contemporary works made in response. According to the exhibition catalogue: “[Lugg’s] work incorporated vintage Japanese cloth, embedded with memory, to explore the art of making-do, a common heritage shared with the Japanese makers of the old textiles in the exhibition.”

The cloths that Lugg chose were worn, channeling Yuriko Saito’s Japanese aesthetics of imperfection and insufficiency (Saito, 1997). In this text, Saito describes how used, worn, repaired and re-used cloth enables a particular type of austere beauty to emerge and how this alternative ‘imperfect’ aesthetic may be valued even more highly than a new, unused item (Ibid).

Australian Wagga quilts are very simple, made from re-cycled materials like flour sacks, or tailors’ samples, made by men or women out of necessity (Hucker n/d). Placed in a Western fine-art exhibition context, these used and deliberately re-purposed textiles provide an

alternative type of provenance. They draw on a utilitarian heritage and a socially unrecognised value-structure. Lugg places her work alongside traditional Japanese Boro, allowing for both to be re-seen and re-contextualised. This creates a dialogue between the pieces, a deliberate space where the viewer may reflect upon what is subtly yet palpably enabled.

As conceptualists and practitioners, Hadlow and Lugg interpolate objects of Asian textile material culture in multiple ways. What they perceive in the objects they focus on cannot be simply articulated. Textiles as objects of material culture are complex. While it may initially seem that Hadlow and Lugg are looking merely at aesthetics, or the craft-skills employed in the item’s construction, this cannot fully explain the scope of knowledge represented by the object or its capacity to operate as a tool for thinking.

According to theorist Paul Carter, ‘material thinking’ is a kind of exchange: “…what happens when matter stands in-between the collaborators supplying the discursive

THREADBARE II (LUGG, 1999)


situation of their work” (Carter 2007:19). This is exactly what Hadlow and Lugg engage in: “…the making process always issues from, and folds back into a social relation…It is this back-and-forth or discourse, that provides the testing-ground of new ideas, and which establishes their interest” (Ibid). Carter also examines the potential of a cultural object to remain changeable: “…from the point of view of creative research, materials are always in a state of becoming. They are … colloidal, humid and combinatory” (Carter 2007: 19).

In this way, ‘conversation’ is intrinsic to Hadlow and Lugg’s practices, where the encounter re-shapes both the artist and the work through physical and conceptual dialogue. It is through the ‘performance’ of making that new ideas emerge: being ready to engage with whatever arises in ‘conversation’ with the object (Carter 2007: 19). Artists like Hadlow and Lugg are re-seeing and re-interpolating cues from the intrinsic, dense subtleties of textile language and meaning within a cultural space, a space where the textiles are “…culturally situated on the threshold between the functional and the symbolic” (Pajaczkowska 2005: 222). It is this in-between territory that these textile artists are drawn to, and play upon, within the solitary spaces of their own practice.

Dr Belinda von Mengersen studied textiles at Goldsmiths

College, University of London then completed a PhD

at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She lectures

in Technology (Textiles) at the National School of Arts,

Australian Catholic University.

rEfErEnCEsHadlow, R., 2011, ‘The Library of Translation Exercises: dis/

location and art practice in West Timor’, Art Monthly Australia,

no. 244, pp.74-6.

Hadlow, R., 2006, ‘The Library of Translation Exercises’,

Mapping the Mind, an unpublished paper seminar paper,

University of South Australia.

Hadlow, R., 2010, Patternbook (virtual book),

<http://www.ruthhadlow.net/patternbook>

Hucker, W., ‘Wagga Rugs’, Pioneer Women’s Hut, Tumbarumba,

Australian National Quilt Register. http://www.collectionsaustralia.

net/nqr/wendy.php n/d, accessed 11/6/2014

Ingold, T., 2013, Making: Anthropology, Archeology Art and

Architecture,

Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon; New York.

Lugg, W., 2005, Common Threads, exhibition catalogue (co-

curators: W. Lugg and S. Leighton-White), international touring

exhibition (1999-2005), various venues in Australia, UK, Japan,

New zealand, USA. This article focuses on the final installation

of this exhibition, Belger Arts Center in Kansas City, USA, 2005.

http://www.wendylugg.com/exhibitions.htmPajaczkowska, C., 2012,

‘On Stuff and Nonsense: The Complexity of Cloth’, Textile: The Journal

of Cloth and Culture, v. 3, no. 3, September 2005, p. 220-249.

Saito, Y., 1997, ‘The Japanese Aesthetics of Imperfection and

Insufficiency’, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 55,

no. 4, p. 377-385.

THE SITUATED LINE, RUTH HADLOW (2013) PULANG,, CURATED BY MICHELLE ELLIOT, SEPTEMBER 2013,

ARTICULATE GALLERY, LEICHHARDT, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

PATTERNBOOk (HADLOW, 2005), INSTALLATION DETAIL, ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA


he spread of Islam in the 7th century produced a vast network of trade based

on common values and the shared Arabic language, uniting the ummah or global Islamic community. It is most probable that the calligraphic batik cloths of Southeast Asia were inspired by contact with Indian Muslim and Arab traders throughout the Indonesian archipelago since the 13th century. The Turkish Ottoman empire secured close links with Aceh and Jambi in Sumatra from the 16th century with the spread of Islam and the Sultanate’s influence was particularly evident in this type of batik cloth. Designs may have also been copied from textiles brought back by Hajj pilgrims from Mecca.

Muslims believe that the written word is God’s word and is, therefore, sacred. Thus, calligraphy is considered the highest art form in Islamic culture. Calligraphic batik cloths all bear the elegant, free flowing Arabic script as their main motif which can be represented in various styles, leading to the development of an extensive, artistic vocabulary. The writing was a type of graphic symbolism that carried immense religious significance. beautiful calligraphy allowed even those who were illiterate to appreciate the perfection, presence and power of God. Arabic calligraphy also functioned to unite the plastic arts throughout the Islamic world, decorating and enhancing the significance of architecture, and objects in ceramic, stone and metal as well as textiles.

In the Muslim world, pre-Islamic styles were pared down to eliminate most representational images. This was connected to a fear of idolatry and the belief that only Allah was the creator, although it has been observed that this practice was not as widespread in Southeast Asia (Maxwell 2003: 335). The Arabs adopted the plant motif or twining arabesque which derived from the Mediterranean vine motif of the Romans and the Byzantines, incorporating it into their art and making it characteristically Islamic by using the motif to fill empty spaces.

In the illustration of an early 20th century calligraphic batik cloth, one can discern a stylised, central flower motif within the calligraphy. Geometric forms such as straight lines, squares, triangles, diamonds, circular motifs and their variants could be added to the calligraphy and arabesques as the designer required (Gillow 2012: 8). Artists were able to

exercise their skill and creativity in subjects which were often half hidden or camouflaged. Patterns which disappeared beyond the border enclosing them, for example, alluded to beliefs of eternity and infinity in Islamic thought.

One way in which cloth could be invested with meaning was by covering it with calligraphy, a task for which the batik technique was eminently suitable. (Kerlogue 2004: 98). The most commonly used phrases was the profession of faith in Islam or shahadah (There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God) or the basmallah, a phrase used at the start of each of the surahs or verses of the Qur’an and uttered before any major undertaking. Many batik kaligrafi were hand drawn (batik tulis) using a canting (wax pen) which could render fine detail on resist dyed cotton cloth. The Arabic script was known as jawi in all Malay-speaking regions. This stemmed from medieval times when both Malay and the Arabic Kufic script were used. The ancient tradition of applying lettering was recorded in the Malay chronicle, the Hidayat Raja Muda dating from the late 15th century.

Sharing the cultural traditions of other Southeast Asian societies, calligraphic batiks are associated with the life cycle; used during

significant rites of passage such as weddings, circumcisions and funerals as well as for warfare and royal investitures. Kerlogue notes that batik is one of the most meaningful forms of art in Indonesia and so has come to represent particular symbols reflecting many of the values held most dear by the culture which produces them (Kerlogue 2004: 75). Their meanings are partly associated with the way batiks are used: how they are folded, where they are placed and to whom they are given. In the case of calligraphic batiks, they are the vehicle for the script invoking deeper meaning and reverence for the Muslim believer.

Banners, head cloths and shawls draped over the shoulders carry motifs with religious quotations and meanings and are still often used in accordance with the ancient functions of sacred cloths. Ceremonial calligraphic batiks, such as royal banners, are of a superior quality and had a considerable amount of time and expense spent on production. They can even be used in illness or when divine guidance was required. However, they are not usually worn or used on specifically religious occasions.

In Southeast Asia, where the notion of protection appears to be particularly important (Maxwell 2003: 336), calligraphic batiks served as talismanic, even magical,

C a l l i g r a P H i C b at i K C lot H s i n s o u t H E a s t a s i a : M E a n i n g b E H i n d t H E W o r d s

Margaret White

T

batiK ClotH WitH islaMiC CalligraPHy and floWEr, EARLY 20TH CENTURY, BATIK ON COTTON, 244 X 104 CM (IRREG.),

ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, GIFT OF JOHN YU AND GEORGE SOUTTER 2008


purposes. Soldiers would wear smaller, square, red head cloths (ikat kepala) to symbolise bravery and deflect weapons and bullets. Devout Muslim soldiers killed on the battlefield were covered in a large batik shroud or kerudung (literally shroud) on their way to their burial. The calligraphic batik coffin cover pictured from Jambi is inscribed with the shahadah and stylised bird motifs arranged around lozenges.

The origin of the kerudung can be traced to India, Iran and Turkey. It was the Ottoman custom to place calligraphic silk cloths over the tombs of their saints, holy men, great rulers, martyrs and soldiers. Another likely influence on Southeast Asian calligraphic batiks is the talismanic jama or shirt which was inscribed with verses from the Qur’an. Sometimes these jama have been found folded up so it is not certain whether they were meant to be worn or rather carried about on one’s person (Seow 2003: 323).

However, it is in the 19th and early 20th century among the diverse communities that settled on the north coast of Java that the predominant Muslim influence on calligraphic batiks can be seen. In Cirebon, special batiks in blue and white and red and white were made for export to Sumatra for consumption by Muslim communities (Campbell 2014: 44) Examples are shoulder cloths and head cloths decorated with Arabic script once worn by Minangkabau clan chiefs in the Padang highlands of West Sumatra or by fighters in the struggle for independence to protect themselves.

Calligraphy and prominent Islamic symbols were originally applied to batik banners and flags. They had a preference for jelemprang patterns (derived from the eight-petalled lotus motif) and ceplokan patterns (featuring repeated geometric shapes) based on Indian patola designs often worked in Islamic green. Eventually, these designs began to appear on deta head cloths and selendang prayer shawls. The deta head scarves were folded, glued and pinned into neat turbans to be worn by men at weddings and other ceremonies (Gillow 2010: 289).

On some calligraphic batik cloths, words have been stylised into lions, birds and stars, all of which have religious significance. For example, a central, star-shaped calligraphic medallion is possibly derived from Islamic Sufi precepts. In many motifs, the meanings are encoded with numbers often representing letters or vice versa in a cabbalistic arrangement. This is particularly prevalent in the cloths sewn into talismanic shirts.

Kerlogue draws another link with the wider Islamic world by the use of the repeated, swirling tughra. This swirling motif is a device used to authenticate Ottoman state documents and consists of the name of a Sultan, his patronymic and the formula May he ever be victorious. The three central lines with two loops which appear like a rooster, is believed to have supernatural powers and was a common design component in square head cloths (Kerlogue 2004: 161). The early 20th century batik head cloth shown has a central stylised floral surrounded by four tughras.

Although calligraphic batiks have not received as much research attention as other Southeast Asian textiles, it is clear that calligraphic decoration has always been in vogue, enjoying widespread appeal in the Islamic world. The production of batik with Islamic calligraphy in Southeast Asia is experiencing a recent revival through screen printing and sale to places such as Jambi and Bengkulu. Margaret White lived in Singapore from 1991-2011

and was a past president and advisor of the Friends

of the Museums (Singapore). She is currently serving

on the TAASA Management Committee following her

passions in textiles and ceramics.

rEfErEnCEsCampbell, Siobhan, 2014. Encounters with Bali, A Collector’s

Journey, Indonesian textiles from the collection of Dr John Yu AC

and Dr George Souter AM. Mosman Art Gallery catalogue.

Gillow John, 2010. Textiles of the Islamic World. Thames and

Hudson, London.

Kerlogue, Fiona, 2004. The book of batik. Archipelago Press,

Editions Didier Millet, Singapore.

Kerlogue, Fiona, 2004. Arts of Southeast Asia: London.

Thames and Hudson, London.

Maxwell, Robyn, 2003. Textiles of Southeast Asia Tradition,

Trade and Transformation. Revised Edition Periplus, Singapore.

Seow, Marilyn. (Ed) 2003.The Asian Civilisations Museum A-Z

Guide to its collections Editions Didier Millet, Singapore.

http://www.sgcool.sg

batiK Coffin CoVEr WitH stylisEd islaMiC CalligraPHy dEsign, MID 20TH CENTURY, BATIK, COTTON, DYES, 290 X 105 CM

ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, GIFT OF DR JOHN YU AND DR GEORGE SOUTTER 2007

batiK HEad ClotH WitH stylisEd islaMiC

CalligraPHy dEsign, EARLY 20TH CENTURY, BATIK, COTTON,

DYES, 95 X 91 CM (IRREG.), ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES,

GIFT OF DR JOHN YU AND DR GEORGE SOUTTER 2007


alli is a generic term for a diverse group of quilts from northwest India and Pakistan

- a geographic area from Rajasthan in the east to Baluchistan in the west, and from the Punjab in the north to Gujarat in the south. This is a region particularly well known for its textiles, and is made up of many and diverse ethnic and tribal groups, each with their own quilt designs and use of particular colours and techniques.

It is Sindh, an area in the south of Pakistan with a population of 42.4 million people, many of whom are related to tribes in baluchistan, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, which is considered to be the centre of the ralli-producing area (Sindh Government Statistics). The words ralli (plural) and rilii (singular) mean a ‘quilt or coverlet stuffed with old clothes’ and are words derived from the Sindhi verb ralarnu, to ‘mix freely, to join’, or ‘connect’ (Parmanand Mewaram Sindhi-English Dictionary).

Ralli quilts are hung over doorways, and used to decorate walls, as bedcovers, and on the backs of animals. They can also be made into bags to hold a dowry (gotho) to wrap a sacred text (bhuiki) or even by a snake charmer to store his snake (Ormsby Stoddard 2003: 31).

Until the 1970s women only made ralli for personal use, and the cloth used was recycled from old clothing. Now ralli may also be made from new cloth, and offered for sale to provide extra income for their families. Where previously a rilii would have been made from cotton, more recently synthetic fabrics are used - they are easier to hand-stitch and retain their colour when washed.

The older ralli were made with cloth of colours related to those found on prehistoric pottery from the Indus region - red, black, yellow, green and blue (Ormsby Stoddard 2003: 48). With the emergence of synthetic fabrics, however, a brighter palette has emerged. Exceptions are ralli made by the two nomadic groups, the Saami and the Jogi, who use a solid colour background on whole-cloth, richly embroidered with threads of different colours; thus the thread creates the pattern, not different cloth colours.

Ralli can be divided into three main categories, and these can be used as a rough guide to identify the region and cultural group of the

maker. The first category is made with an upper layer (purr) of patchwork (touki) which is found in the checkerboard designs of the central plains around Hyderabad. Quilts from middle and south Sindh usually include blocks with appliqué, whereas in the north, appliqué and patchwork blocks are often combined in the same quilt.

The designs used in making ralli have been passed from woman-to-woman for perhaps thousands of years, and thus can provide insights into the collective identity of a cultural group or tribe. And although a woman may learn to make ralli from her mother or other women in her community, she may choose to adapt the design. When a rilii is made from discarded clothing, it may provide additional insights into its maker’s life, just as her choice of colours expresses her individual creativity.

Ralli are also made to celebrate special occasions such as a wedding, prior to which the women come together to sew a dowry quilt, and the stitching, pattern, and cloth used in these quilts may be particularly fine. This is an important feature of quiltmaking across many cultures, giving women a chance to meet together, exchange stories and sing.

I was first introduced to the term ralli in an exhibition, South Asian Seams at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska during a visit in 2010.

The exhibition was laid out on a regional basis; the visitor effectively led from one quilt to the

next as if travelling in a zigzag manner from east-to-west across the subcontinent. It was clear from the beginning how the lexicon of designs could be used to identify the different geographic and cultural regions from where they originated.

The first example of a rilii quilt in the exhibition was from Rajasthan. It included appliqué, small glass mirrors (shisha) and fragments of fabric arranged in intricate geometric patterns. The 19th century ‘crazy’ quilts - a form popular in England and North America - have a marked resemblance to this style of quilt, which raises the question of whether there was a link between these two types of quilts at the height of British colonial involvement in India. Histories of the quilt medium suggest the enthusiasm for ‘crazy’ quilts came from North America, yet the connections between Rajasthan and Britain and the similarity in layering and embroidery techniques used suggest the possibility of another channel of inspiration via the women who spent time in India in colonial times.

From Rajasthan the exhibition moved to the region of Gujarat, and an extraordinary whole-cloth quilt made from a typical Rabari shawl, richly embroidered and appliquéd so that the surface had a remarkably dynamic quality. Here the exhibition progressed to the second room and ralli from Pakistan. On the walls were quilts from the southern Sindh region, with colour scheme and ornate appliqué characteristic of the Muslim Chauhan quilters.

r a l l i Q u i l t s : E x P r E s s i o n s o f C u l t u r a l & i n d i V i d u a l i d E n t i t y

Sarah E. Tucker

R

rilii, MAKER UNKNOWN, PROBABLY MADE IN HYDERABAD, SINDH, PAKISTAN, CIRCA 1950-1960, 215 X 123 CENTIMETERS. IMAGE COURTESY

OF THE INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN; IQSCM 2005.035.0002. WWW.QUILTSTUDY.ORG.


Removing the quilt from its traditional place in the home and displaying it within the art gallery results in a shift in focus. Viewing quilts in this setting encourages an analysis of their aesthetic qualities and formal characteristics, supported by an informed narrative which places them in their cultural context. Imagining a quilt back in its domestic setting can cause an abrupt shift from the public to the private domain.

And this is what happened to me when I came across a charpoy covered by a well-used and worn ralli from Thatta, Sindh at this exhibition in Lincoln, Nebraska. Suddenly I experienced a flash of memory which took me back in time to my childhood as a 5-year-old living in the baluchistan region of Pakistan. Experiencing this personal connection led me subsequently to explore the world of the ralli in greater detail, where I found myself asking questions concerning identity - of the collective, of the individual.

The act of joining two or more layers of cloth by means of lines of stitching to make a quilt, an object that is both functional and decorative, is found in many different cultures. The quilts produced in the Indus valley are particularly distinctive and varied, and represent a tradition that has been practiced for perhaps thousands of years. This is a tradition that has not, however, remained unchanged: these ralli not only identify the various tribal and ethnic groups of the region, they also celebrate the ongoing resourcefulness and creativity of the individual women who make them today.

Sarah Tucker had a nomadic childhood living in

various countries in Asia, Europe and the Middle

East. She graduated BSc Hons (zoology) 1974, MSc

(Biophysics) 1976, MArtTh (UNSW) 2005. She writes,

curates and makes quilts.

rEfErEnCEsInternational Quilt Study Center & Museum (IQSCM), University of

Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska USA

Ormsby Stoddard, Patricia, 2003. Ralli Quilts, Traditional Textiles

from Pakistan and India, Schiffer Publishing Ltd

Parmanand Mewaram Sindhi-English Dictionary (online):

<http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/mewaram/>

Sindh Government Statistics (online): <www.pwdsindh.gov.pk/>.

rilii, MAKER UNKNOWN, PROBABLY MADE IN CHOLISTAN, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN, CIRCA 1975-2000, 214 X 138 CENTIMETERS. IMAGE COURTESY

OF THE INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN; IQSCM 2007.004.0004. WWW.QUILTSTUDY.ORG

rilii, MAKER UNKNOWN, PROBABLY MADE IN GUJARAT, INDIA, CIRCA 1970-1990, 196 X 127 CENTIMETERS. IMAGE COURTESY OF

THE INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN; IQSCM 2005.033.0021. WWW.QUILTSTUDY.ORG

rilii, MAKER UNKNOWN, MADE IN MATLI, BADIN, SINDH, PAKISTAN, CIRCA 1970-1980, 221 X 137 CENTIMETERS. IMAGE COURTESY OF

THE INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN; IQSCM 2006.021.0004. WWW.QUILTSTUDY.ORG.


n 22 June 2014, at the UNESCO conference in Doha, Myanmar’s Pyu city sites became

inscribed on the World Heritage List. The three city sites of Sri Ksetra, Beikthano and Halin are recognised as the most intact and largest examples of first millennium settlement in Southeast Asia, and also are key in tracing the development of Buddhism through the region. I was particularly delighted to see the sites so recognised, especially as I have visited Sri Ksetra a number of times, and had just spent extended periods there in the first half of 2014 while on sabbatical from the Australian National University.

Sri Ksetra has long been recognised as a region rich in history. Preparation of the documents for UNESCO required extensive research of the site itself which was the focus for the listing. The objects in the local site museum were somewhat peripheral to the formal documentation. My study program involved the complete cataloguing of the Sri Ksetra Museum collection and most of the objects in storage. I worked with local staff, incorporating training in museology, while we jointly discussed and described the array of artefacts from the site.

The project was suggested to me by Dr Bob Hudson, a Sydney based archaeologist known to many TAASA members. Bob is one of a small team who worked with the Burmese to prepare the UNESCO submission, and he appreciated that there was a need to start more formal documentation of existing artefacts. With approval from the Myanmar Ministry of Culture, I spent two month-long periods in Myanmar, focussing on cataloguing the Museum collection with local staff. In addition I also gave lectures on museology to the new intake of students at the Archaeology Field School at Pyay.

The Sri Ksetra Museum (formerly the Hmawsa Museum) is on the outskirts of Hmawsa village, around 6km from the major city of Pyay. The original site museum, established in the early 1900s, remains in the grounds of the adjacent monastery, Kyauk Kar Thein, and is used as a store. The current museum building was built in the 1960s with later extensions. The museum remained unchanged until September 2013 when there was a major refurbishment of the displays in conjunction with the UNESCO submission. These are accompanied by thematic wall

panels outlining key elements of the region’s history including religion, architecture and burial practices. The objects themselves are remarkably varied – from large stone steles and imaginative terracotta architectural plaques to delicate silver coins and gold rings, and much more.

Cataloguing the works was a great experience, though it had its own challenges. I worked with the manager of the Museum and her assistants, as well as staff from the Archaeology Field School who teach museology. Each day we measured, described and discussed objects, with me typing everything onto my laptop and taking photographs. It was hot, high 30s and even low 40s most days, with an overhead fan providing some relief in the museum but not in the store where open windows and doors provided the available ventilation.

I thank everyone involved for retaining good humour through these trying conditions! While I had brought some museum tools such as tape measures, soft brushes for cleaning and torches, I was reminded again how much we take resources for granted. Basic equipment items such as a stepladder or cotton gloves are just not readily available. Modern museum practices are simply not well known in Myanmar as opportunities to develop such skills have only recently been available. We spent time on art handling practices and preventative conservation. We discussed wall labels and visitor information. I shared information on western art historical

terminology and learned much from my Myanmar colleagues about how they describe the material in the collection.

The experience was extremely worthwhile. I worked with fellow professionals who were all keen to learn more about international museum practice. The museum itself is looking terrific and even with its modest resources and facilities, gives visitors the opportunity to see some fascinating objects professionally presented, including some of the earliest Buddhist artefacts from Southeast Asia. Large scale stone sculptures are a stand out art form for me, as is the variety of styles and iconography which makes developing a chronology of Pyu art a challenge, but one I am definitely pursuing! Teaching students from the Field School who are studying for their Diploma in Archaeology was also a great experience and helped show how the museum could be used as a teaching resource.

Sri Ksetra is now firmly on the map. Tourism will steadily increase and the site will need to respond to this. We have some ongoing projects in place including development of a museum guide book, and continued cataloguing of Pyu artefacts from the region. I look forward to continuing my association with the staff and am already planning my next visit!

Dr Charlotte Galloway is a Lecturer, Asian Art History

and Curatorial Studies at the Australian National

University, Canberra.

r E s E a r C H i n g i n t H E f i E l d – t H E s r i K s E t r a M u s E u M , P y a y, M y a n M a r

Charlotte Galloway

ONEW CHALLENGES EACH DAY


ravellers taking the two-day boat trip down the Mekong River to Luang

Prabang spend the night in the little town of Pak beng, perched above the steep riverbank. Most people continue down-river, but a few intrepid travellers take the road north toward the provincial capital, Oudomxai. Few stop on the way in the little town of Muang Hun and fewer still are aware of the extraordinary textiles, like this tube-skirt, once produced here.

When these unique textiles first appeared on the market in late 20th C, they created quite a stir. Very little was known about them or their weavers. Some thought they had been woven by the Tai Lue, because the tube-skirts displayed typical Lue structure: two side seams (most other Tai tube-skirts have only one), the pattern in the mid-section (body) oriented horizontally when worn, and a separate waistband (head) with dark indigo hem piece (foot). Most had a red cotton waistband and a white cotton border to the hem piece. All featured three yellow silk bands above the hem.

This piece however is all silk, with natural dyes. The warp and most of the weft is red, while all of the supplementary weft is in different colours, creating a most harmonious blend of hues. Its most striking aspect is the prominent panel of fine tapestry weave, with the colours ‘outlined’ in white. A narrower, more subtle band of tapestry in the same shades, without the white, is placed on the upper part of the body. A second major element consists of bands of discontinuous supplementary weft, some with triangular shapes enclosing motifs of flowers, fern tendrils and small birds. Narrow bands of red and white ikat, and of green or white continuous supplementary weft, separate these design elements, whilst the bottom of the hem shows the characteristic yellow silk stripes. The brown waistband and dark indigo hem are handwoven in cotton.

I am always attracted to textiles with ‘folk’ character, as they display the weaver’s personality. I fell for this textile when I spotted it in a textile shop in Luang Prabang in the early 1990s. It was sold as a 100 year old Tai Lue tube skirt from Oudomxai province.

However this one is not typical of Lue textiles. The Lue, who live in northwest Lao and have distinctive architecture, dress, language and

script, are renowned as weavers, preferring cotton and bright chemical dyes. They are almost unique among the Tai for their use of tapestry, but use it in narrower bands, indicating area of origin through pattern and placement. Their use of silk is almost always confined to tapestry and supplementary weft.

The history of Muang Hun may help to explain the difference between these distinctive pieces and those woven by Muang Hun weavers today (and the Lue generally). In particular, the use of silk in the warp is more characteristic of the Tai Phuan, masters of sericulture and silk weaving. They use silk warps when silk is used in the weft. The Lue and Muang Hun weavers today use the same techniques, however the main decorative section is narrower and placed at hip level, while use of tapestry is more discrete, making the overall effect more restrained.

In the outlying villages around Muang Hun, the Lue are the dominant ethnic group. They migrated from the independent principality of Sipsongpanna (now in Yunnan, China) and intermarried over the last 200 years with the Tai Phuan, who originated from the Phuan Kingdom in northeastern Laos.

The Phuan are the most displaced of all the Tai. Their territory (now Xieng Khouang province) suffered repeated invasions, and was heavily bombed in the Vietnam War. There is no record of the Phuan arrival in Muang Hun. After the end of the civil war (1975) the people were relocated to Luang Prabang because they were thought to be rightist. The area was destroyed and deserted for 10 years. People later returned and rebuilt the town and surrounding villages.

In their new locations the Phuan adapted by changing their style of dress, tradition and language to fit in with the locals. Sadly, few in Muang Hun now remember their old traditions, though their traditional songs remain, as does the use of silk warps and the use of complex supplementary weft patterning.

both the buddhist Lue and Phuan wove textiles for the animist Mon-Khmer-speaking Khmu, the original inhabitants of the country living in the hills throughout Laos. Examples of the simple textiles they once wove on backstrap looms can be seen in the excellent Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre in Luang Prabang. These unique Muang Hun tapestry tube-skirts are part of their textile treasure, for use in ritual ceremonies.

This beautiful, exuberant tube-skirt was made for sale to Khmu shamans. It would have never been worn in Muang Hun. As textile scholar Patricia Cheesman noted: “no-one would dare wear such an outrageous piece in their own village” (2014 personal communication).

Gay Spies, OAM is a former microbiology teacher,

active in community and environmental organisations.

Her interests include Lao and Thai textiles, tracking

down old temples with interesting murals and leading

small group tours to Laos.

rEfErEnCEsCheesman, Patricia (1998). Introducing Muang Hun Textiles, in:

Tai Studies Proceedings, S. Burusphat (ed), Bangkok and (2014)

Personal communication.

Songsak Prangwatthankun (2008). Cultural Heritage of Tai Lue

Textiles, Chiang Mai University.

C o l l E C t o r ’ s C H o i C E : A M U A N G H U N T E X T I L E F R O M N O R T H W E S T L A O S

Gay Spies

T

tubE-sKirt (sinH) FROM MUANG HUN, OUDOMXAI PROVINCE, NORTHWEST LAOS, LATE 19TH C..

© GAY SPIES, IMAGE COURTESY OF CAROLINE WHITLEY


Pointy shoes and Pith Helmets.

dress and identity Construction

in ambon from 1880-1942

Marianne Hulsbosch

Brill, 2014

RRP $US 142.00, hardcover, 237 pages

This publication is an intensive sociological and cultural examination of Ambonese society as mediated through dress and adornment in the late Dutch colonial period. Ambon, a famed Spice Isle in the Indonesian archipelago, is situated more or less halfway between the most easterly reaches of Sulawesi and the western tip of West Papua. Together with a number of other tiny islands in the central Moluccas group, their reputation for spice-laden resources far exceeds their size.

It was the spices - cloves, nutmeg and mace - that drew first the Portuguese in the early 16th century, then the Dutch who, a century or so later, fiercely contested the Portuguese trade presence. Ultimately the Dutch won out and established themselves in the region, specifically in the Moluccas. This history is important because it transformed the society of the indigenous peoples of the islands, most significantly during the last century of Dutch colonial rule.

Dr Hulsbosch frames her analysis in sociological terms according to a theoretical typology which “…can be used in analysing sartorial expression as a means of defining identity” (p2 note B). This approach leads her to organise her discussion under the headings of “Disciplined dress”, “Dominating dress”, “Mirroring dress” and “Communicative dress”. Described within these chapters are the complex and ever changing components of dress adopted by Ambonese in response to the impact of the dress codes, fashions, materials, and accessories of European origin, an impact in evidence as far back as the Portuguese but

which became most pronounced in the late Dutch colonial period.

Autochthonous dress consisted of simple barkcloth loincloths ciao babaungga for men and harene for women. The Ambonese, however, responded to the changes in their society - affecting their religion, education and social hierarchy - which challenged their ancient customs. European Protestant and Catholic customs, for example, demanded the body to be covered and Islamisation added further facets to the requirements of dress.

In response to these influences, women adopted skirts, sarong and kain, with long sleeve jackets baju or kebaya of finer fabric. Men’s dress conformed increasingly to European styles of trousers, with shirts and jackets. While the Ambonese responded to the colonial circumstances, the author concludes that the Ambonese never completely abandoned their adat or traditions associated with dress. Interestingly, both male and female Dutch civilians living in Ambon often adopted styles and fabrics in their dress, in recognition, at least at a pragmatic level, of the tropical conditions they experienced. These reflected local styles while making their own lifestyle more comfortable.

The discussion delves further than the textile components of dress. Ambonese women created elaborate ornamentation which is described here in great detail, encompassing the contribution of jewellery, hairstyles as well as hair ornaments. It includes the elements of dress distinctive of wedding attire. Women’s slip-on style shoes with upturned, pointy toes, cenela and kaus (which provide the title of the book) obliged them to take small, constricted steps integral to a notion of appropriate deportment.

For readers interested in traditional textiles, it is worthy of note that the indigenous peoples of this archipelago, the Alifuru of neighbouring Seram, did not have a weaving tradition. Their dress in pre-colonial times employed both natural materials plucked from the forest as well as beaten barkcloth.

This hardcover publication is profusely illustrated with historical photos from the author’s private collection as well as from that of the KITLV (The Royal Netherland Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies).

Added to these are numerous charming sketches which the author has prepared from images, where she wanted to show details of hairstyles, jewellery and ornamentation essential for the completion of traditional dress for celebratory events in the lives of the Ambonese, as well as their newly assumed roles in the hierarchy of colonial society and religion.

The material supplementary to the text consists of a list of end notes to each chapter, a catalogue of image sources, a glossary of technical and non-English terms, a register of interviews over a 12 year period by the author both in Ambon and amongst Ambonese in the diaspora, as well as a comprehensive bibliography. A map would have been a useful addition, this area being perhaps a lesser-known area of Indonesia.

This publication is without doubt a unique and insightful resource both in the depth of its examination and analysis of Ambonese dress and adornment and the discussion of Ambonese responses to shifting influences resulting from colonial society, socioeconomic circumstances, cultural demands and competing religions.

Gill Green is President of TAASA and an Honorary

Associate in the Department of Art History and Film

Studies, University of Sydney.

b o o K r E V i E W: E X H I B I T I N G T H E PA S T

Gill Green

THREE AMBONESE WOMEN READY FOR CHURCH,

N/D. PRIVATE COLLECTION M. HULSBOSCH

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O . 3 29

TAASA’s Annual General Meeting 2014 was held in Sydney on 21 May – and yes, we would normally have reported on this earlier, in the June issue of TAASA Review. However, this year the AGM took place so close to our June print deadline that a report had to wait until September. In future, TAASA hopes not only to better synchronise the AGM and deadlines for the TAASA Review, but also to have the capacity speedily to report such events and their outcomes on our redesigned website.

Held in a capacious and comfortable lecture theatre provided courtesy of COFA, the AGM this year attracted 51 members. Our high attendance number for this AGM strongly suggests that the big drawcard of the evening was the post-AGM, inaugural ‘TAASA Oration’, given by Dr David Christian (see below).

The meeting noted that, despite a small loss during 2013 (the year in review), the Society’s financial position was satisfactory, and Treasurer Todd Sunderman was thanked for his professional presentation.

The meeting’s Chair, President Gill Green, advised that former Management Committee members Hwei-fe’n Cheah, Matt Cox, Charlotte Galloway, Ann Guild, Yukie Sato and Susan Scollay were all stepping down from the Committee as of this meeting, and had not chosen to re-nominate. All were sincerely thanked for their generous donation of time and work to the Society. Gill Green particularly thanked and commended Ann Guild for her hard work, professionalism, efficiency and tireless energy, particularly as Treasurer (for eight years) and Events co-ordinator (three years), during her many years of service to TAASA.

Gill Green (current President) and Josefa Green (editor TAASA Review) had also come to the end of their three-year terms, but offered themselves for re-election, which the meeting endorsed with enthusiasm. Boris Kaspiev, Natalie Seiz, Sandy Watson and Margaret White (previously one year term) were also elected unopposed for three-year terms on the Committee. The full list of TAASA Committee members for 2014 appears on the Editorial page of this issue.

In answer to a question about the re-development of the TAASA website, arising from the minutes of the 2013 AGM,

the meeting was advised that the project was moving forward. The Management Committee meeting held subsequent to the AGM confirms that a new website for TAASA should be up and running this year.

At the conclusion of the AGM, Gill Green introduced Professor David Christian from Macquarie University, the inaugural ‘TAASA Orator’. The TAASA Oration, a new initiative of the Society, aims to provide an annual forum where distinguished speakers can present ideas and projects aimed to inspire. Dr Christian certainly fulfilled those criteria. His specialty is the concept of ‘World History’ or ‘Big History’, a new approach to history which attempts to integrate knowledge drawn from a wide range of disciplines from history to geology, biology to cosmology. He is now working with the support of Bill Gates on a free, on-line high school syllabus. His talk was fascinating and erudite, and certainly his basic argument that ‘the recent past is only understandable in terms of the whole 14-billion-year span of time itself’ is most attractive intellectually. While I freely admit to finding his total concept somewhat too complex to grasp in one sitting, his ideas and presentation are very stimulating – see Endnote below on how to check this out further.

The first Management Committee meeting after the AGM confirmed the new members of the TAASA Management Committee and saw the initiation of another new idea for TAASA: Jackie Menzies was in attendance as the first TAASA Ambassador, invited ‘to

input ideas and advice to further TAASA’s aims’. As Emeritus Curator of Asian Art at the AGnSW and a past President of the Society (1992-2000), Jackie is ideally qualified for this diplomatic posting.

I’m sure all TAASA members wish the Management Committee, and especially TAASA Executive members (President Gill Green, vice-President Ann Proctor, Treasurer Todd Sunderman and Secretary Dy Andreasen), the new Events co-ordinator Sandy Watson and new co-ordinators for Victoria (Boris Kaspiev) and Queensland (James MacKean), every success in working together to increase our awareness and understanding of the marvellous arts of Asia.

For more information on David Christian’s ‘Big History’ initiatives, see many websites including Wikipedia and Macquarie University’s www.mq.edu.au/about/events/view/vivid- ideas-exchange-david-christian-on-teaching-the-big-picture/

t a a s a’ s a g M a n d t H E i n a u g u r a l t a a s a o r a t i o n

Sandra Forbes

TAASA PRESIDENT GILL GREEN WITH RECENTLY RETIRED TAASA TREASURER, ANN GUILD.

bEloW: PROFESSOR DAVID CHRISTIAN OF MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, PRESENTER OF FIRST TAASA ORATION, SOURCE WWW.BIGHISTORY.ORG.UK

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O . 330

TAASA Weekend Excursion to Canberra 14 – 15 June 2014The final days of the national Gallery of Australia’s exhibitions Gardens of the East: Indonesian Photography 1850s to 1940 and Finding your place in the world: contemporary Indonesian photomedia coincided with the beginning of another show, Bali: Island of the Gods. Furthermore, a symposium held in conjunction with the photography exhibitions proved to be an ideal opportunity for a group of TAASA members to gather in Canberra over the weekend of 14-15 June.

It was a somewhat poignant treat to be taken around Gardens of the East by retiring curator, Gael Newton. We have all benefitted immensely from her interest in Asian photography during her curatorship. Participants enjoyed hearing a range of local and international presenters at the Saturday symposium. Amongst them was the celebrated contemporary artist F X Harsono, whose work was included in the exhibition Finding your place in the world: contemporary Indonesian photomedia. He and other speakers joined us for drinks generously provided by Asia Book Room on the Saturday evening. On Sunday morning, Robyn Maxwell took the group through her latest, splendid exhibition, Bali: Island of the Gods. Following an excellent lunch at the gallery café, we concluded the Indonesian weekend with a most enjoyable performance of Balinese Dance.Ann Proctor

TAASA Symposium: Symbolism and Imagery in Asian Textiles19 July 2014TAASA’s flagship symposium was this year held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the TAASA Textile Study Group, a group whose members have unfailingly and enthusiastically dedicated themselves to promoting interest in and knowledge of all

facets of Asian textile study. The audience of nearly 80 people was treated to three stimulating presentations from Susan Scollay, Christina Sumner and Siobhan Campbell. A summary of their presentations have been published in this issue (see pp4 – 12). Our thanks to Ann Guild and Christina Sumner for their efforts in organising this successful event and to the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney for the use of their lecture theatre.

TAASA TEXTILE STUDY GROUPForeboding Future for Fragile Fabrics - An illustrated talk by Sue-ann Smiles7 May 2014In this engaging presentation, Sue-ann Smiles, a member of the TSG, examined two very different textile traditions: the gold thread brocade of Varanasi (Benares) and the Chikankari embroidery of Lucknow and how their future is, literally, hanging by a thread.

Sue-ann explored the rich history of Varanasi brocade from early accounts of woven gold thread in Hindu scriptures of the Vedic period, through its peak under the patronage of the Mughal emperor Akbar, to present day production as evidenced by her on a recent visit to the artisans’ studios. Also discussed was the evolution of brocade looms that has allowed production of an affordable but far poorer quality product. Due to the high cost of employing traditional weaving methods, the studios still producing the genuine article now have a limited clientele.

Sue-ann explained how the production of Chikankari embroidery has also been

threatened, initially by low priced mill textiles during the British Raj and after partition, by the loss of major markets particularly Muslim Pakistan. Post independence, the Government introduced a Chikan embroidery scheme to revive the craft but the artisans were exploited by unscrupulous contractors. Today, SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) assist by cutting out the middleman.

Her talk was supported by a display of exquisite Brocade and Chikan work together with her own wonderful photographs taken during her recent travels to the region.Helen Perry

From Fashion to Passion: The kimono culture of Japan 1900-present dayA personal exploration by Fiona Cole11 June 2014 What kimono to wear and when to wear it are two important dress considerations in Japan. In June, our guest speaker from Singapore led us through some of the complexities of women’s kimono including its varying styles, construction, materials and motifs. We learnt that a furisode with its long, flowing sleeves and extravagant obi bow may only be worn by young, unmarried women. It can be lined or unlined according to the season and may also be worn for Coming of Age Day in January. Designs include the Three Friends of Winter (pine, bamboo, plum blossom) or lattice and drum.

Married women wear the kurotomesode for the most formal occasions, usually in a plain, darker coloured silk patterned only below the waist with shorter sleeves. A red lining and decoration inside the robe is characteristic of vintage pieces. A silver or gold brocade obi and matching zori (shoes) and handbag completes the outfit.

The homongi is for visiting and can be a more formal garment with pattern flowing around the hem or over seams extending above the waist onto sleeves and shoulders. Attending a tea ceremony? Then you must wear the iromuji which literally means solid colours although black is excluded as it reserved for mourning wear (mofuku). For more casual engagements, the komon is worn which has an all over repeat pattern, originally stencilled.

r E C E n t t a a s a a C t i V i t i E s

CAROLE DOUGLAS EXAMINING AN EXQUISITE CHIKANKARI SHAWL

© SUE-ANN SMILES, IMAGE COURTESY OF SANDRA WATSON

SPEAKERS AT TAASA’S TEXTILE SYMPOSIUM. FROM L TO R: CHRISTINA

SUMNER, SIOBHAN CAMPBELL, SUSAN SCOLLAY. PHOTO: GILL GREEN

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O . 3 31

As Fiona revealed each strikingly and beautifully woven kimono and shorter, women and men’s haori jackets from her collection, audible oohs and aahs were heard. We learnt that while kimono clad ladies are an iconic symbol of Japan, in the space of little more than a century this garment has rapidly moved from being the staple of every wardrobe to the preserve of ceremonial occasions and specialist wearers. Renting kimonos for special occasions is now quite common. After donning white, cotton gloves, keen participants eagerly got up close and personal to the textiles.Margaret White

TAASA CERAMICS STUDY GROUPIkebana: relating ceramics with flower arrangement7 June 2014A meeting of the Ceramics Study Group was held at the house of Dr and Mrs Tenpas one Saturday in June. Twenty-two members and friends gathered to hear Mrs Kuniko Nakano, Head of the Sydney Ohara Group of Ikebana, demonstrate the relationship between ceramics and flower arrangement. This school of Ikebana originated during the Meiji Period.

Kuniko Nakano has many years of experience practicing and teaching this art form as was ably displayed during the morning. She produced three types of arrangement for three differing types of ceramic vessel, each of which expressed a particular aesthetic mood. One, in a flat Oribe style of container, appeared like a miniature garden behind a fence and was enhanced by the placement of a plain paper table screen at the rear of the arrangement. The first arrangement in a hand made stoneware vessel, used branches of pine and camellia. Group members were surprised to learn about the various devices, which

maintain the elements of the arrangement in a perfect position. The final landscape arrangement evoked a lakeside environment with cleverly placed branches, ferns, flowers and mosses.

We all expanded our knowledge of Ikebana through the delightful presentation by Mrs Nakano and her assistant, who explained the philosophy and practicalities of this style of flower arrangement in a charming and knowledgeable manner. The CSG is grateful to the Tenpas’ for the use of their home for this most enjoyable morning.Ann Proctor

TAASA IN VICTORIAVisit to the textile collection of Russell Howard12 June 2014TAASA Victoria members and guests were privileged to visit the home of Russell Howard, who has been collecting mainland

Southeast Asian textiles for more than 25 years. Most recently, Russell has focussed on Tai textiles from north-east Laos. Viewing a selection of ikat skirts, we were taken on a textile journey from Sonla in north-west Vietnam through north-east Laos and back into Vietnam’s Nghe An province. Russell explained how the function of the skirts and the designs varied between the Tai groups living in this mountainous area. We then viewed a selection of ceremonial shawls from the same area, dating as far back as the late 19th century. Russell has regularly travelled to Laos, and was able to share his firsthand experience of the source of textiles, the stories associated with their production and use, and the changing nature of their place in the culture of Tai people.

Russell drew on his extensive library to illustrate the few published textual sources about the history of textiles from Laos. He discussed the potential for misunderstanding the meanings of textile motifs when researchers fail to establish the place of origin of the textile and to identify the Tai group that made it. TAASA participants felt that they were fortunate to be able to view such an extensive collection, informed by Russell’s deep knowledge and

TAASA CSG IKEBANA EVENT. CAMELLIA AND PINE IN STONEWARE

VESSEL ARRANGED BY KUNIKO NAKANO. PHOTO: ANN PROCTOR

RUSSELL HOWARD PRESENTING LAO TEXTILES FROM HIS

COLLECTION TO TAASA MEMBERS. PHOTO: BORIS KASPIEV

I am greatly excited to be welcomed into the folds of TAASA, an organisation that fosters such far-reaching knowledge, appreciation and enthusiasm for the art and culture of Asia. My own interests are based around Indonesian material culture, an interest

that evolved from the study of Indonesian language as a high-school student. Having completed an undergraduate degree in Asian Studies from the University of New South Wales, I worked as a translator and interpreter with the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor and later as a Liaison Officer with the Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney. In 2009 I began postgraduate study at the University of Sydney, researching the Australian Museum’s collection of Balinese paintings to examine the relationship between the collecting process and the contemporary production of ‘classical’ art in Bali.

I currently teach in the Indonesian Studies program at the University of Sydney and this year worked with Mosman Art Gallery and Dr John Yu, AC to curate an exhibition of Indonesian textiles from his collection.

In August 2014 I will commence a further period of field research on balinese art as an Endeavour Postdoctoral Fellow. Over coming years I look forward to sharing more insights from my work with the TAASA community and, more importantly, to learn from and be inspired by fellow members.

t a a s a M E M b E r P r o f i l E s S I O B H A N C A M P B E L L


experience, and finished the evening by asking him when he was going to write his own book about this fascinating and little known area of textile history. TAASA is very grateful to Russell for allowing us to share his passion, and we look forward to a return visit to view his collection of Southeast Asian palm leaf manuscripts.

Walkthrough of the exhibition Bushido – Way of the Samurai5 July 2014Wayne Crothers, Curator of Asian Art at the National Gallery of Victoria, led TAASA Victoria members on a walkthrough of the exhibition Bushido: Way of the Samurai. It is believed this may be the first exhibition about the samurai shown in Australia. Most of the exhibits were drawn from the NGV’s own holdings, and some have never been previously displayed.

Wayne highlighted objects of specific interest for the history of collecting in Melbourne, including suits of Edo period armour, horse saddles and stirrups, a full set of horse trappings and textiles that were acquired by the NGV in Melbourne during the 1880s, and other items whose acquisition was made possible through the Felton Bequest. Bushido includes items in a variety of media: sumptuous textiles, lacquer work, metalwork, wood block prints and sculpture.

For an in-depth article about the exhibition and the history of the samurai, please see Wayne’s article in the June 2014 of TAASA Review. Boris Kaspiev

TAASA IN QUEENSLANDMember preview of Mossgreen Asian Art Auction5 June 2014TAASA QLD members attended an Auction Preview evening hosted by Jan Manton Gallery, with Mossgreen Director Paul Sumner introducing Asian ceramics and Chinese scholar pieces from their forthcoming Melbourne auction. Guests were treated to many interesting anecdotes and insights into the Asian Art market, and were able to handle selected items that Paul had brought with him in his suitcase for the event!

Artist Talk – Khadim Ali26 July & 5 August 2014 On Tuesday 5th August, Josh Milani Gallery hosted a viewing and talk by Josh introducing the work of Australian based Hazari artist Khadim Ali in his latest show of works on paper, video, and featuring three large handmade carpets with intricate designs commissioned in Afghanistan by the artist. Earlier, at the opening on Saturday 26th July, TAASA members had the opportunity of meeting the artist, who talked very movingly about the plight of the minority Hazari community in Southern Afghanistan, and the thematic elements informing his powerful works, which continue to receive increasing acclaim both in Australia - with his survey earlier this year at AGNSW, and overseas at invited shows such as Documenta.

TAASA Queensland Textile weekend2-3 August 2014A meeting between TAASA Queensland convenor James MacKean, The Australian Forum for Textile Arts (TAFTA) founder, Janet De Boer and the self-styled “doily collecting cowboy” Greg Pankhurst, all

TAASA members, resulted in a wonderful weekend of textile discovery in Brisbane. Greg has been a long time collector of traditional textiles from south Sumatra, especially tapis, Lampung’s famed couched gold thread women’s skirt cloths. Persuaded by Janet and James, Greg very generously allowed Janet to curate a beautiful collection of textiles selected from his collection.

The exhibition was hung in her Gallery 159 at the Gap, just to Brisbane’s north. Visitors were treated to a dazzling display of tapis and also to a number of rare ‘ship cloths’. This opening was preceded by a re-creation of their Lampung wedding by TAASA members Chris Reid and Evie Reid in the Queensland Art Gallery, with the lecture hall decorated by the actual textiles, many and diverse, that accompanied their wedding in 2000. The question for Greg on everybody’s lips was when was he going to write the book!Gill Green

THE TAASA TEXTILE STUDY GROUP

IS TURNING 20

Date Tuesday 28th OctoberTime 6.00 For 6.30pm unitl 9.00pmPlace Nigiri’s 81 Christie Street St Leonards Dress A touch of India Contact Gill Green: [email protected] M: 0466 977 313

You and your partner are invited to join us in celebration.

TAASA TSG Members and their Guests: $50 Per Person. Bookings and payment in

advance are essential. No refunds

This includes: all entertainment, sumptuous food, dessert, wine, soft drinks, tea & coffee

and much more.

PAUL SUMNER PRESENTING ITEMS FROM MOSSGREEN’S

FORTHCOMING AUCTION. PHOTO: MANDY RIDLEY.

GREG PANKHURST AND RUTH MCDOUGALL, CURATOR,

PACIFIC ART, IN FRONT OF TEXTILES FROM GREG’S COLLECTION.

PHOTO: MANDY RIDLEY

CHRIS REID DISCUSSING TEXTILES HE DISPLAYED

AT THE QAGOMA TALK. PHOTO: GILL GREEN


TAASA Member Talk & Preview – Bonhams76 Paddington St, Paddington, SydneyWednesday 29 October, 2014, 6 -7.30pmBonhams will be holding an auction of a major collection of snuff bottles covering more than 360 bottles of various material: ivory, rock crystal, horn, inside painted glass, pecking glass, cloisonné, ceramics, lacquer, and various hardstones, mostly of late 19th century to 20th century. Bonham’s Asian Art Specialist, Yvett Klein, will walk TAASA members through the collection, pointing out highlights and providing some background information on these exquisite objects.Cost: $10 members, $15 non-members. Refreshments provided. RSVP to Gill Green essential by 26 October at [email protected].

TAASA TSG Celebration DinnerTuesday 28 October 2014, 6-9pmAll welcome at this Diwali themed dinner. For details see ad p32 and insert.

TAASA End of Year Party, Sydney6- 8pm, Wednesday 3 December 2014 Korean Cultural Centre, Elizabeth St SydneyJoin TAASA to celebrate an active year for the Society and to enjoy good company, refreshments and a traditional Korean performance.RSVP to Sandy Watson at: [email protected].

TAASA IN VICTORIAPrivate Melbourne Japanese art collection viewingFurther details to be advised.

TAASA Victoria end-of-year party Thursday 4 December 2014, 5.30 – 7.30pm East & West Art Gallery, East KewCost: $20 members, $25 non-members. Bookings essential.For bookings and further information on TAASA Victoria events, contact Boris Kaspiev at: [email protected] or 0421 038 491.

TAASA TEXTILE STUDY GROUPAll meetings held at the PLC Room, Powerhouse Museum, 7.15 – 9.15pmRefreshments provided. $10 members; $15 non-members. Email enquiries to Helen Perry at [email protected].

The Rabari Shawl – Symbol of Change10 September 2014Carole Douglas will talk about these woven and embroidered shawls and how their use and construction have evolved over time.

12 November 2014: to be advised.

TAASA CERAMICS STUDY GROUPA dealer’s perspective: collecting & authenticating Chinese ceramics Presentation by Ray TregaskisTuesday 30 September 2014, 6-8 pmCOFA, Paddington, SydneyJoin us for this presentation by long term antique dealer and expert Ray Tregaskis and take the opportunity to bring in your own pieces for discussion at the meeting. Members $20; Non-members $25. Light refreshments.RSVP to Margaret White: [email protected]

TAASA IN QUEENSLANDArtist talk with Vipoo Srivilasa Saturday 6 September, 3 - 5 pmEdwina Corlette Gallery, 2/555 Brunswick Street, New Farm On the occasion of this Thai-born Melbourne based ceramic sculptor’s latest exhibition. This is a free event. RSVP to [email protected]; Tel 07 3358 6555

Lindy Lee ExhibitionUQ Art MuseumThis first major survey of Lee’s practice explores her acclaimed early photocopy work, and work that evolved following her embrace of Buddhism and her Chinese heritage. Join TAASA QLD at the opening of this exhibition in September, and later in October for a gallery walk through with curator Michele Helmrich. Dates and times to be advised. RSVP to [email protected]. Both free events.

Empty Vessels II 22 -23 November 2014Lesley Kehoe Galleries in BrisbaneOn this weekend, Lesley Kehoe Galleries will be transported from Melbourne to a pop-up location in St Lucia, Brisbane. An introduction to Tea and Zen, and to Sake drinking culture, will accompany the artisan vessels on display. There will be a performance piece with music and refreshments. Details provided on RSVP to [email protected]. Cost: $45 TAASA members, $70 non-members. Numbers limited.

t a a s a M E M b E r s ’ d i a r y

S E P T E M B E R – N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4

My interest in Asian art began when, by necessity, I had to enrol in a course called Modern Asian Art taught by a new lecturer at the University at the time, John Clark. It opened my eyes

to a world of art I had never contemplated before. Sure, I have a rather diverse family background: my father was born in Harbin, China of a Russian émigré parent; my mother is from a traditional Chinese

family in Hong Kong, but they were both immigrants in a ‘white’ Australia. So it may have been from this background that I thought in Asian art I was going to find out more about myself or where I fit in.

I wanted to do more research, so went to Taiwan in 1999 where I lived and worked for a number of years to learn Chinese. I eventually decided to explore the work of women artists, in the knowledge that the voices of women are often left unheard. When I returned to Australia, after working at Gallery 4a, I got a position at AGNSW working with the Asian collections and

have worked on number of exhibitions since. I decided to study part time, and received my PhD in Art History at the University of Sydney last year, examining the emergence of contemporary women artists in Taiwan from the 1970s-2000s.

My interests in modern and contemporary Asian art have broadened, and I continue to speak and publish on women artists in Asia. My current position at the AGNSW is Assistant Curator, Asian Art.

t a a s a M E M b E r P r o f i l E s N ATA L I E S E I z


W H a t ’ s o n : s E P t E M b E r – n o V E M b E r 2 0 1 4

A S E L E C T I V E R O U N D U P O F E X H I B I T I O N S A N D E V E N T S

Compiled by Tina Burge

aCt

stars of the tokyo stage - natori shunsen’s

kabuki actor prints

19 July – 12 October 2014

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

The exhibition’s kabuki actor prints reveals the dynamic world of Japan’s kabuki theatre through actor portraits created by artist natori Shunsen (1886–1960) in the 1920s and 30s. An inspiration to artists for centuries, kabuki draws on Japan’s rich folklore, literature and history, as well as violent, romantic and scandalous events, to present lavish and dramatic performances. Kabuki actors were extremely popular in Japan and were renowned for their flamboyant portrayals, extraordinary characters and colourful personal lives. Shunsen’s prints provide a fascinating glimpse into this glamorous world, while demonstrating consummate mastery of traditional Japanese printmaking techniques.

Exclusively from the NGA collection, Stars of the Tokyo Stage explores kabuki and modern Japanese printmaking in the context of the great change taking place in Tokyo in the 20th century. A selection of spectacular kabuki robes further illustrates the extravagance of the theatrical form.

Talks in conjunction with the exhibition include:• Starstruck by Melanie Eastburn, Curator,

Asian Art, who will discuss the work of Zoe Kincaid, a Canadian journalist and kabuki aficionado living in Tokyo in the 1920s on 4 September at 12.45 pm

• Turning Japanese: the art of collecting Japanese prints by Mark Henshaw, author of the recently published novel The snow kimono, and former Curator, International Prints at the National Gallery of Australia

There will also be films associated with the exhibition:• The actor’s revenge (DVD, 1963, M, 113

mins) on 7 September 2.00 pm• Kabuki documentaries, which take the viewer

backstage, on 28 September at 2.00pm.For further information go to: www.nga.gov.au

soutH australia

Elegant Pursuits – art of the East asian scholar

Until 7 December 2014

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

Presents the cultivated environment of the scholar-artist filled with the implements for his aesthetic, moral and spiritual cultivation such as flowing calligraphy, austere ceramics used for tea, lacquerware and sculpture. Essential to the scholar’s practice were the Four Treasures (brush, ink, inkstone and paper) which were believed to reveal his true character. The dynamic qualities of the brush and ink pervade the display on screens and hanging scrolls. For further information go to: www.artgallery.sa.gov.au.

nsW

Haze - tully arnot, sarah Contos,

Jensen tjhung

22 August - 25 October 2014

Gallery 4a, Sydney

Haze is an exhibition of new work by Australian artists Tully Arnot, Sarah Contos and Jensen Tjhung. Together, these three artists undertook 4A’s inaugual Beijing Studio Program at the studios of Chinese-Australian artist Shen Shaomin in Huairou on the northern outskirts of Beijing in September 2013. They were transfixed by the

grey mist that was a constant element within their surroundings and their artworks reflect their responses to their environment.

For further information go to: www.4a.com.au.

a fine Possession: Jewellery and identity

23 September 2014 – September 2015

The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

The exhibition showcases a spectacular selection of over 700 pieces of jewellery and body adornments from Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. On view will be a large selection from the Museum’s significant collection of Asian jewellery. See pp16 – 17 in this issue for a preview of the exhibition.

Chinese arts Weekend

13 - 14 September 2014

Eryldene Historic House and Garden

17 McIntosh Street, Gordon, Sydney

Including performances and a talk by Jackie Menzies. Details on www.eryldene.org.au.

QuEEnsland

A program of exhibitions celebrating contemporary Japanese art and fashion will be held at the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) over 2014-2015.

Hanga: Modern Japanese Prints

16 August 2014 – 8 March 2015

QAG, Brisbane

The exhibition will explore the texture, colour and innovation of Japanese printmaking from the 1960s to the present. It showcases printmakers working in a variety of techniques and styles, including innovators such as Kiyoshi Saito, as well as artists known in broader contemporary art contexts such as Toko Shinoda, Tadanori Yokoo and Masami Teraoka.

Over sixty works from the Gallery’s collection of Japanese prints created after 1950 will be displayed. This highlights the ongoing importance of the printmaking tradition in Japan, where artists continue to draw from centuries-old techniques and imagery, while innovating and experimenting with new forms and technologies.

MATSUMOTO KOSHIRO VII AS UMEOMARU IN ‘SUGAWARA’S SECRETS

OF CALLIGRAPHY’ 1926 FROM THE SERIES COLLECTION OF CREATIVE

PORTRAITS BY SHUNSEN , WOODBLOCK PRINT; INK AND COLOUR

ON PAPER. NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA, CANBERRA, GIFT OF

JENNIFER GORDON,1998


We can make another future

6 September 2014 – 21 September 2015

GOMA, Brisbane

The exhibition will include Japanese contemporary works from the QAG & GOMA’s permanent collection including Kohei Nawa’s glass bauble-encrusted PixCell-Double Deer#4 (2010) and Yayoi Kusama’s immersive, mirrored installation Soul under the moon (2002).

future beauty – 30 years of Japanese fashion

1 November 2014 – 15 February 2015

GOMA, Brisbane

Future Beauty explores the tremendous innovation of Japanese fashion designers from the early 1980s to the present. With nearly 100 garments featured in the exhibition, ranging from the classic and elegant to outrageous, this will be a fascinating experience and rare opportunity to view these unique creations first hand.

Japanese fashion made an enormous impact on world fashion in the late 20th century with designers such as Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto. Their works will be shown alongside examples by the techno-couturier Junya Watanabe, a protégé of Kawakubo, together with the pioneer of the Ura-Harajuku movement Jun Takahashi, and the new generation of radical designers including Tao Kurihara, Hiroaki Ohya, Matohu, Akira Naka, Hatra and mintdesigns.

Curated by Japanese fashion historian Akiko Fukai, Director of the Kyoto Costume Institute in Japan, the exhibition explores the unique sensibility of Japanese design, and its sense of beauty embodied in clothing.

Check the gallery’s website for details about discussions, talks and tours with international and local guest speakers, designers and curators, including the opening weekend’s events on 1-2 November.

For further information go to: www.qagoma.qld.gov.au

ViCtoria

bushido – Way of the samurai

4 July – 4 November 2014

National Gallery of Victoria - International

The exhibition explores the fascinating world of the samurai who were the warriors, rulers and aristocratic elite of Japanese society for more than 800 years from the 12th century through to the end of the Edo period in 1868. Bushido: Way of the Samurai focuses on samurai as both warriors and men of refined culture and showcases the attire of the samurai in the form of armour, helmets, swords and equestrian equipment. It displays the cultural pursuits of samurai in the form of Noh costumes, calligraphic scrolls, lacquer objects and tea utensils and re-lives the legacy of bushido through representations of samurai in large screen paintings, dramatic woodblock prints and noble studio photographs.

For further information go to: www.ngv.vic.gov.au

intErnational

unitEd KingdoM

Ming – the golden empire

National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

27 June – 19 October 2014

The exhibition includes works from the Nanjing Museum, including ‘Chinese National Treasures’, and introduces key aspects of the Ming dynasty, focussing on the remarkable cultural, technological and economic achievements of the period.

For further information: www.nms.ac.uk

Ming – 50 years that changed China

18 September 2014– 5 January 2015

British Museum, London

Jessica Harrison-Hall, the British Museum’s curator of Chinese ceramics, and Craig Clunas, professor of the history of art at the

University of Oxford, have jointly curated this year’s blockbuster exhibition at the British Museum. Ming – 50 Years that Changed China focuses on the 50 years from 1400 to 1450 that the curators maintain, changed China irrecoverably. It was not only a period when the Ming dynasty established Beijing as the capital and built the Forbidden City, but also a period when China was thoroughly connected with the outside world enabling Chinese artists to absorb and reinterpret outside influences. The exhibition will feature a range of spectacular objects – including porcelain, gold, jewellery, furniture, paintings, sculptures and textiles – from museums across China and the rest of the world. Many of the pieces have only been recently discovered and have never been seen outside China.

For further information go to: www.britishmuseum.org

usa

assyria to iberia at the dawn

of the Classical age

22 September 2014 – 4 January 2015

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

At its height in the 8th to 7th centuries BCE the Assyrian Empire was the largest empire the world had yet seen, reaching from Assyria (present-day northern Iraq) to the Mediterranean. The exhibition will comprise of over 260 works of art on loan from collections in Western Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, North Africa, and the United States. The pieces will reflect the deep roots of interaction between the Assyrians and their trading partners along the shores of the Mediterranean.

For further information: www.metmuseum.org.

franCE

splendours of the Han: rise of the Celestial

Empire

22 October 2014 – March 2015

Musee Guimet, Paris

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China, this exhibition showcases the artistic legacy of the Han, including painting, bronzes, ceramics and lacquer ware, drawn from major Chinese museum collections and recent archaeological finds.

YOHJI YAMAMOTO’S SPRING/SUMMER 1995 COLLECTION, KYOTO

COSTUME INSTITUTE, PHOTOGRAPH BYTAKASHI HATAKEYAMA

Review 23-3-2014 September

Documents

Transcript of Review 23-3-2014 September