Pua Sungkit
Not on view
This is a fine example of a ceremonial textile (pua sungkit) from the Kantu interior region of west Kalimantan, Borneo. The cloth is a rich red color with a rich array of geometrical, and highly graphic, interlocking designs in contrasting colors, all concentrated within the central panel of the cloth, and enclosed by vertical stripes at each border to contain its potency. The cloth is in excellent condition. Pua sungkit are some of the oldest known Iban textiles, and many of their distinctive patterns were inspired by Indian textiles traded to Indonesia as early as the fourteenth or fifteenth century, including Gujarati double-ikat patola, the designs of which had a profound influence on indigenous textile patterns throughout the region.
