Borneo - Maloh Dayak Woman's Ceremonial Beaded Skirt - #189

$950.00

Description:

A fine example of its type, likely dating to the late 19th-early 20th century, featuring a horizontal beaded panel depicting various geometric motifs including some evoking stylized hudoq or monster masks designed to ward away evil influences. The beaded band is flanked by trios of appliqued split nassa shells. A Maloh woman would have worn this skirt on a ceremonial occasion as a means of reflecting her family’s wealth and social status, and as a gesture to beneficent spirits capabe of aiding humans when properly invoked.
All or nearly all of the glass beads were made in Europe. They are stitched with handmade threads created by Maloh women from plant or tree fibers painstakingly refined to be strong and yet thin enough to connect beads.
Additional photos available upon request.

Condition:

Very Good, with the beaded panel missing only 2 beads. All shells are intact. There are two 5-8mm holes in the black cotton ground, as shown in one of the detail photos, and two 2-4 mm holes in the red cotton border. Additionally, the red cotton cloth is faded in areas.

Dimensions:

Comparable Examples:

John Maxwell, Textiles of the Kapuas Basin - with Special Reference to Maloh Beadwork. In Indonesian Textiles: Irene Emory Roundtable on Museum Textiles, 1979 Proceedings, edited by Mattiebelle Gittinger, pp. 127-140. Textile Museum, Washington, DC. See Fig. 1.

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Description:

A fine example of its type, likely dating to the late 19th-early 20th century, featuring a horizontal beaded panel depicting various geometric motifs including some evoking stylized hudoq or monster masks designed to ward away evil influences. The beaded band is flanked by trios of appliqued split nassa shells. A Maloh woman would have worn this skirt on a ceremonial occasion as a means of reflecting her family’s wealth and social status, and as a gesture to beneficent spirits capabe of aiding humans when properly invoked.
All or nearly all of the glass beads were made in Europe. They are stitched with handmade threads created by Maloh women from plant or tree fibers painstakingly refined to be strong and yet thin enough to connect beads.
Additional photos available upon request.

Condition:

Very Good, with the beaded panel missing only 2 beads. All shells are intact. There are two 5-8mm holes in the black cotton ground, as shown in one of the detail photos, and two 2-4 mm holes in the red cotton border. Additionally, the red cotton cloth is faded in areas.

Dimensions:

Comparable Examples:

John Maxwell, Textiles of the Kapuas Basin - with Special Reference to Maloh Beadwork. In Indonesian Textiles: Irene Emory Roundtable on Museum Textiles, 1979 Proceedings, edited by Mattiebelle Gittinger, pp. 127-140. Textile Museum, Washington, DC. See Fig. 1.