/internal/media/dispatcher/973457/resize%25253Aformat%25253DthumbnailCeremonial hanging (palepai)mid-19th centuryOverall: 73.7 x 382.3 cm (29 x 150 1/2 in.)Cotton plain-weave ground with cotton discontinuous supplementary patterning weftsWilliam E. Nickerson Fund1980.1720Long, rectangular cotton cloth with design elements created by discontinuous supplementary weft patterning; primary design is of a pair of red ships with arching bow and stern, hulls decorated with yellow, blue, white spots and medallions, three architectural enclosures or shrines on deck which enclose human figures, leopards and buffalo, a single row of human and animal figures below deck; background motifs include fish and umbrellas.
Palepai, or ship cloths, are ritual textiles which represent a belief in the concept of a "ship of the dead," that would carry souls away to the afterlife. Palepai were traditionally displayed at rite of passage ceremonies.Textiles73.700000000012566901