J ONATHAN H OPE

A rare and early ceremonial Boubou from the Manding culture, Liberia, West Africa; handspun cotton, narrow-strip weaving, embroidery, 19th century. Measurements: 2.30 x 1.97m (7'6" x 6'5") See Le Boubou-C'est Chicby Bernhard Gardi, pp132-139, published by Museum der Kulturen Basel, editions Christoph Merian.

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7581 5023 Mobile: +44 (0)771 196 1937 E-mail: jonathan.hope@btinternet.com

By appointment
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CONTEXTEXHIBITIONS

different sacred shirt, created using loop manipulation braiding in the place of card woven decoration. One of my favourite Toraja textiles is known as tali tau batu, meaning ‘strap’, ‘person’ and ‘stone’, a reference to fertility megaliths called laso batu(stone penis) found in the Rongkong area where they are woven. Sometimes called pewo,loin cloth, they come in two forms, of which the older is recognisable by its greater complexity and fewer areas of plainweave 1. This kind of cloth, unique to Toraja, shares a structural relationship with the pote– plainweave openwork with inserted spiral wefts, but with ikat-like tie-dyeing where the resists are knotted into pattern slits in the prewoven cloth before dyeing. The book (in both Japanese and English), identifies four weaving centres – the Sa’dan Toraja, Mamasa Toraja, the Mangki of Kalumpang and the Rongkong area – and posits that all once shared the samepool of techniques and motifs, but that over time each ended up specialising, which affected the nature of the cloth and the emphasis in the final result. The typical features of each, including yarn density, colour arrangement of warp stripes, and patterns, are charted in informative graphs and essays, so that we learn, for instance, that only in Kalumpang is mud-dye used. Etsuko-san explains that in the light of Keikosan’s research, the ‘map’ needs to be redrawn, based less on what we know to be regional weaving styles, than on examining very early material and trying to apply diagnostic criteria to arrive at a more complete picture of Toraja weaving. She points out that several pieces fall outside of known parameters, and she recommends that we look to Central, North and Gorontalo Provinces, with a deeper look at the Minahasa in particular being implied.

Only two textile typeswere conspicuous by their absence from the exhibition, and yet easily forgiven in light of their extreme scarcity, a pio puang, of which a detail was illustrated in the book (p.107, fig.3), with discussion of how it might have served as the prototype for the batiked geometric composition of a sarita, and a paporitonoling(HALI 135, cover), probably the rarest and arguably the most visually compelling of all Indonesian tribal ikats to survive. The importance of this exhibition and catalogue cannot be overstated. Through Keiko Kusakabe’s almost messianic commitment to collect and document Toraja textiles, and her ‘deep structure’ study of both the society and the art of the loom, she has provided exceptionally valuable work. Her effort, combined with Etsuko Iwanaga’s scholarship and insights into iconography and aesthetic organisation have produced gold. Together, they have gone far in decoding both the weaving techniques and the symbolic meaning of the sacred cloth of Sulawesi, giving new voice to the women weavers of Toraja.

The Keiko Kusakabe Collection – Textiles from Sulawesi in Indonesia – Genealogy of Sacred Cloths Fukuoka Art Museum, 11-6 Ohori Park, Chuo-Ku, Fukuoka City, Japan 1 November – 27 December 2006

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5Ceremonial cloth,

maa’, west India. 0.99 x

1.94m (3'3" x 6'4").

6Toraja woman’s tunic,

central Sulawesi. 0.81

x 0.50m (2'8" x 1'8")

7Mangki Toraja woman’s

blouse, Sulawesi. 0.80

x 0.49m (2'7" x 1'7")

HALI ISSUE 151141