TEXTILES | I N D O N E S I A N
The William Siegal Gallery has a significant collection of mounted, historic
Indonesian Kain Lawons from Palembang, Sumatra. A Lawon is
a presentation silk scarf for a married woman. The tritik process of
resist dyeing with its use of needle and thread to secure sections to
be kept away from the dye-bath, is not to be confused with the similar
plangi or pelangi (literally rainbow) process of tie-dye, where
areas of cloth are bound off with dye-resistant fibers. As wall pieces,
these large ceremonial silk scarves make a modern minimalist
statement reminiscent
of Rothko paintings.
