Not currently on display at the V&A

Painted Cloth

ca. 1930 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Maa or Mawa cloth of painted and printed cotton. The design consists of an elongated tree with central trunk with a series of roughly symmetrical pairs of branches with leaves and fruits, reaching out to the side borders all the way up. Near the top the trunk divides into two. Three birds, possibly two-headed, perch in the top most branches. The tree grows from a rocky mound, flanked by two similar mounds on either side, and two pairs of long horned quadrupeds (buffalo?), two of whom are tethered to the tree trunk. Two little men are also present, one of whom appears to be leading one of the untethered animals by the nose, and carrying a stick (?) in his other hand. An object, possibly a noose, dangles from the same arm. A series of borders runs round the edges, the main one of repeating quartered circle, with a small circle in each quarter. Guard borders of continuous squiggly bombé, circles, ovals, etc. A triangular motif runs across each end of the cloth above a border of stepped geometrical ornament. The design is carried out in subtle colours, dark grey and reddish brown, on a creamy ground.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Painted and printed cotton
Brief description
Maa or Mawa cloth, painted and printed cotton, Sulawesi, Indonesia, ca. 1930
Physical description
Maa or Mawa cloth of painted and printed cotton. The design consists of an elongated tree with central trunk with a series of roughly symmetrical pairs of branches with leaves and fruits, reaching out to the side borders all the way up. Near the top the trunk divides into two. Three birds, possibly two-headed, perch in the top most branches. The tree grows from a rocky mound, flanked by two similar mounds on either side, and two pairs of long horned quadrupeds (buffalo?), two of whom are tethered to the tree trunk. Two little men are also present, one of whom appears to be leading one of the untethered animals by the nose, and carrying a stick (?) in his other hand. An object, possibly a noose, dangles from the same arm. A series of borders runs round the edges, the main one of repeating quartered circle, with a small circle in each quarter. Guard borders of continuous squiggly bombé, circles, ovals, etc. A triangular motif runs across each end of the cloth above a border of stepped geometrical ornament. The design is carried out in subtle colours, dark grey and reddish brown, on a creamy ground.
Dimensions
  • Length: 276.5cm
  • Width: 69.5cm
Object history
Purchased. Registered File number 1980/936.
Historical context
Ma or Mawa cloths are ceremonial textiles of the Toraja tribe, and rarely seen. They are said to have been worn by Shamans for ritual purposes, to have been used as canopies at the funerals of great men, and to have covered ceremonial drums.
Subjects depicted
Collection
Accession number
IS.35-1980

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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