Indonesian Textiles - Softcover

Hitchcock, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0064302172 ISBN 13: 9780064302173

Publisher: Basic Books, 1992

Synopsis

Some of the world's finest textiles are made in Indonesia, the great archipelago that embraces thousands of islands between Sumatra and New Guinea. Prized as items of trade and inheritance, fabrics are often displayed or exchanged during such rites of passage as coming of age and marriage. Textiles are also symbols of prestige, and in the past the most exquisite designs were used only by the highest ranks of society. Indonesia is justly famed for its textiles decorated with batik and ikat, but there are many other fascinating fabric traditions, such as supplementary weft, which has only recently begun to be fully appreciated in the West. The author focuses on these techniques and other decorative methods such as embroidery, couching, applique and gilding. He also shows how the skills of weavers and dyers are acquired and developed. The decline of royal patronage and the growth of mass tourism has had a considerable impact on textile making in the last 20 years, but the author examines the survival of traditional designs and significant colours and explains why they have retained their importance for the people of Indonesia. Formerly an Assistant Keeper at the Horniman Museum, London, Michael Hitchcock is now a Lecturer at the Centre for South-East Asian Studies at the University of Hull. He is the author of INDONESIAN TEXTILE TECHNIQUES and a contributor to ETHNIC JEWELLERY. With 100 colour and 50 black and white illustrations.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0064302172
• ISBN 13: 9780064302173
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208