Women Elders as Masters

This beautiful handspun textile is made bya master weaver from Biboki in West Timor. Using very fine ikat to create precise patterns of the hooked m'akaif motif requires patience and deep knolwedge of the natural dye work expecially in achieving the Morinda-red dye colour.

A textile of this excellence requires 6-9 months to complete especially when using handspun threads where cotton is collected from local gardens and carefully spun into thread before tying patterns. The ma'kaif motif refers to the interconnectedness of all life; between the ancestors, human society and the natural world. A textile of this quality would be worn by a woman as a tubular sarong for ceremonies such as the inauguration of her ancestral house.

Dry cleaning recommended.

Information about the makers will be supplied with each cloth.
Warp ikat and Supplementary warp wrap patterning, three panels stitched together and sewn as a tube, handspun cotton, natural dyes. Ikat, tied, dyed and woven in Timor, 2023. Size 164 x 66 cm / 64.5 x 26 in