HANDWOVEN IKAT TIMOR INDONESIA - TABLE CLOTH 017

Ikat: Textile of Great Power and Artistry

Indonesia enjoys an enviable reputation as a veritable paradise for textile connoisseurs. On Timor, as elsewhere in the archipelago, ikat are much more than simply decorative pieces of cloth. To the Timornese they represent a mark of cultural identity and religious exclusivity, while the use of certain cloths also convey subtle differences of birth, age, sex, title and caste. Traditional fabrics also serve many sacred and ritual functions, distinguishing the holy from the profane and the good from the evil.

Humans are not the only ones who wear ikat-clothes - the Timornese clothe almost everything, which possesses a head, a body and feet. Buildings, shrines, altars, ancestor stones and statues are all wrapped in costly or magically permeated apparel during rituals. The cotton yarns are said to bring strength to both men and objects, protecting them and warding off harmful influences.

The history of the ikat textile is hidden in mystery. Most historians agree that it is an old technique, but as to who was the first to develop the method, or if there can be any one culture to make such a claim, is the main point of debate in the world of ikat. Generally speaking though, ikat is the process by which one "ties and dyes" a thread of some sort and then weaves a design by matching the dyed sections of thread accordingly. In fact, the word "ikat" is really the stem of the Indonesian word "mengikat" (same as Malay word), which roughly translates to mean "to bind, knot, or wind through"

"Ikat" means "tied" or "bound" in the Indonesia Language which describes the process. Through common usage the word has come to describe both the process and the cloth itself

Ikats created by dying the warp. Before the warp strings are attached to the loom they are arranged into bundles. Each bundle is tied and dyed separately, so that a pattern will emerge when the loom is set up. This takes a good deal of skill. The tightly bound bundles are sometimes covered with wax or some other material that will keep the dyes from penetrating. The process is repeated several times for additional colors.

Some patterns have many strands in the cloth that are all dyed the same way which creates a blocky design. In some weaving traditions each strand of the cloth may be dyed differently from the ones next to it. Usually the pattern repeats in symmetrical or asymmetrical ways. To make these elaborate patterns the weaver will still bundle and dye several threads together. Elaborate ikat patterns like this are often handed down from generation to generation in the same family.

After the threads are dyed the loom is set up. The pattern is visible to the weaver. Threads can be adjusted so that they line up correctly with each other. Some ikat styles (like in Japan and Guatemala ) don't try to get the patterns precisely lined up, others (like in Indonesia ) the patterns are so accurate, that you have to look closely to determine that the pattern was not printed on the cloth.

Glosseries

A dye can generally be described as a coloured substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is usually used as an aqueous solution and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fibre. (In contrast, a pigment generally has no affinity for the substrate, and is insoluble)

A loom is a machine or device for weaving thread or yarn into textiles. Ikat was made by a very small hand-held loom

In practice, the basic purpose of any loom is to hold the wrap theads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads.