Indonesian Textiles

Some of the world’s finest textiles are made in Indonesia. Fabrics are prized as items of inheritance or trade, or as symbols of prestige. They are often displayed or exchanged during rites of passage such as coming of age and marriage. Indonesia is famed for it’s textiles decorated with batik or ikat, but there are many other fascinating fabric traditions such as supplementary weft. The author Michael Hitchcock focuses on these techniques and other decorative methods such as embroidery, couching and applique. He also shows how the skills of weavers and dyers are acquired and developed.