Ceremonial Textile (Tampan)
Paminggir (Indonesia, South Sumatra, Lampung area, Possibly Kota Agung)
Late 19th century
- Medium
- Four panels joined; cotton, gilt-metal strip, silvered-paper-strip wrapped silk, plain weave with supplementary patterning and brocading wefts; stitched together with pineapple fiber
- Classification
- Religious/Ritual Object
- Dimensions
- 75.2 × 240.7 cm (29 5/8 × 94 3/4 in.)
- Culture
- Indonesia
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Textiles
- Credit line
- Gift of E. M. Bakwin Indonesian Textile Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Ceremonial textiles like this one—called tampan—were used in rites of passage and as wrappings for ritual gift exchanges. The images of ships that appear on these fabrics were considered symbolic of transitions, evoking vessels that ensured safe conduct from one phase of life to the next. This example features depictions of a European ship, rather than one that would have been used in the region; the reason for this unusual choice is unknown.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
