Paris hosts Indonesian Ikat textiles exhibit

10 Dec '13

1 min read

For the first time in its history, the Espace Asia in Paris is hosting an exquisite display of traditional Indonesian Ikat textiles, woven right in the heart of the beautiful Sumba island, a part of the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Scheduled to run through March 15, 2014, the ongoing exhibit, embedded with audio-visual displays, highlights the living tradition of Ikat weaving and the impeccable craftsmanship of weavers from the island.

Based on a palette of red, brown and indigo hues, the featured exhibits include more than 15 pieces, sourced mainly from east Sumba, and two ikat textiles from a private collector.

Enhanced with fringes and alternating stripes, the exhibited blankets, scarves and sarong skirts are decorated with motifs of animals, rituals, symbolic trees, canoes, houses and chefs.

The Ikat is a way of multiple resist dyeing technique on hand spun cotton yarns, which are tied into knots to resist the dye when the cloth is soaked into the dye-colour vats.

Indonesia has recently filed an application for ikat textiles from East Sumba to be recognized as part of UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage of humanity list.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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