Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 0144-0001 | |
| Category | Textiles | |
| Object Name | Clothing mat | |
| Culture | Micronesian: Marshallese | |
| Global Region | Oceania | |
| Country | Marshall Islands | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | Unknown | |
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | unknown | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. 1890-1905 | |
| Collection Name | N/A | |
| Materials | Pandanus leaves; Beach bur fibers (reddish brown); Dyed hibiscus fibers (black); Native cordage | |
| Description | Nearly square mat woven primarily of thin strips of pandanus leaves, primarily in a simple plaiting (1/1) technique; Central square area of mat is plain, framed on all four edges by a four borders; Inner border is woven of natural pandanus leaves and overstitched with unidentified dyed black fibers to form a continuous line of “Z†shapes; Second narrow border is also woven of natural pandanus leaves with overlay of unidentified dyed reddish brown fibers that form pattern of zigzags, known as the “wavy land of islands†pattern; Third and widest border is woven in diagonal plaiting technique, with natural pandanus leaves positioned in one direction and unidentified dyed dark brown fibers positioned in the opposite direction, forming parallel rows of parallelograms (with alternate rows pointing in alternate directions) and solid dark brown squares at each corner; Fourth border is identical to the second one; A fifth and final border is woven separately of very narrow plain and dyed black pandanus leaves in diagonal plaiting technique producing a pattern of interlocking diagonal lines that continues uninterrupted around rounded corners of mat; Fifth border is then attached to larger mat with strip of pandanus leaf on either face that is secured with native cordage; All designs on mat are double-faced, i.e., design and/or color is reversed from front to back of mat; Mats of this type were traditionally won as clothing by women, with one in the front and another overlapping one on the back and the two secured with a belt of some type. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Width = ca. 91.0, Length = ca. 91.0 | |