Wearing Cloth
Unknown Artist
1900–1950
Medium
tabby weave; silk brocaded with silk and metallic threads
Dimensions
203.2 × 94.6 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Brown
Accession Number
1955.307
About this artwork
The small pattern of rosettes in the main field, the selvage borders, and the tumpal (triangle) border are characteristic of the gold, silver, and red silk cloths woven in the Palembang region. Sumptuous silks of this type were only made in the eastern coastal cities of Sumatra that maintained active trade with China and India. Not only were the silk, gold, and silver threads imported, but the elements of the design were derived from Indian patola (warp and weft ikat) silks. Traditionally, cloth...