COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.2000.28
AMICA Library Year:
2001
Object Type:
Textiles
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Indian
Creator Name-CRT:
India, Coromandel Coast, mid-18th Century
Title:
Oversize Hip Wrapper (tapis)
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
mid-1700s
Creation Start Date:
1745
Creation End Date:
1755
Materials and Techniques:
cotton; plain weave; drawn resist, painted mordants, dyed
Creation Place:
Coromandel Coast
Dimensions:
Overall: 122cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
2000.28
Credit Line:
John L. Severance Fund
Provenance:
Made for export to Indonesia; collected by vendor in South Sumatra, Indonesia
Context:
This colorful, elegantly-patterned cloth (displayed folded in half) was made in India for export to Indonesia in the East-West spice trade of the Dutch United East India Company. On the island of Sumatra such cloths, worn by both men and women, acquired ceremonial status, sometimes with magical and religious connotations. The pattern influenced local textile production, especially the heading at each end with triangles (kepala) on the deep red ground.The rich colors were a renowned hallmark of Indian cotton textiles, which were coveted in Europe and in the East. The Indian expertise in mordant patterning and dyeing was based on centuries of experience that foreigners sought in vain to duplicate. In 1734 a Frenchman, M. de Beaulieu, documented eleven stages of the labor-intensive process. It included applications of mordants (chemicals that fix dyes), which reacted in dye baths to produce specific colors; wax to keep desired areas white and dyed areas protected in subsequent dye baths; and bleaching in dung baths to lighten the ground.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.2000.28.tif
