Protective Designs on Silk

The motif on this beautiful all natural dyed songket is called teteledan which is a pattern that is found in the geringsing double ikat textiles of Tenganan. Geringsing, however, literally means "against sickness". The textiles are considered magically protective. While this motif is reserved for the double ikat in Tenganan it was also woven into songket cloths by the royal courts in the Karangasem kingdom in the 19th century. Tenganan village is within this old kingdom.

Songket is a supplementary weft technique, the motif being created in the base weave during weaving. The pattern is defined by 400 extra heddles. Each of these lifts only those warp threads under which the supplementary weft must pass at a given point in the design. As weaving progresses, the pattern heddle in use changes and the design develops. Paired songket are worn by both sexes as wedding attire or during tooth filing rituals.

Ida Ayu Punari is the foremost authority on Balinese traditional textiles and is also a natural dyer who oversees all of the dye process on the songket cloths. 

Information about the makers will be supplied with each cloth.
Supplementary weft patterning, two panels sewn together, silk threads used as base with cotton threads as patterning, natural dyes. Made in Bali, 2020. Size 184 x 102 cm / 72.5 x 40 in