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Heirloom textile (Maa')
Indian for the Indonesian (Sulawesi) market
early 14th century
Place of Origin: Sulawesi; Place of Creation: Gujarat, India
Medium/Technique
Cotton plain weave, resist printed and mordant dyed
Dimensions
Height x width: 205 x 37 in. (520.7 x 94 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase by exchange from general funds, Denman Waldo Ross Collection, The Elizabeth Day McCormick Collection, Gift of Mrs. Francis B. Lothrop, Bequest of Forsythe Wickes, Gift of Mrs. Albertine W.F. Valentine, residuary legatee under the will of Hervey E. Wetzel, John Gardner Coolidge Collection, William Alfred Paine Fund, Gift of Charlotte Lyeth Burton, Gift of the Collection of Edward Jackson Holmes, Gift of Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf, and Gift of Maxim Karolik, and Textile Curator's Fund
Accession Number2007.831
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles – Resist – Combination
DescriptionCeremonial banner or maa' with tree of life pattern repeated in two rows with smaller border below, resist dyed with indigo and madder. This heirloom textile or maa' was preserved by the Toraja people of inland Sulawes, Indonesia and thought to have been acquired from the Luwu people who lived in the coastal regions of this island.
ProvenanceBefore 1963 until about 1998, Frank Lakner, Indonesia and Switzerland [see note 1]; before 1998, sold by Lakner to Thomas Murray, Mill Valley, California; sold by Murray to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 12, 2007)
NOTES:
[1] Lakner lived in Indonesia between 1939 and 1963 when he moved to Switzerland and the textile would have been exported at that time or prior to it.
NOTES:
[1] Lakner lived in Indonesia between 1939 and 1963 when he moved to Switzerland and the textile would have been exported at that time or prior to it.