Sumatran Tapi Sarong

Sumatra, the Isle of Gold located along the maritime route between Asia and the West, was part of the early global network of commerce and cultural exchange. In the southern tip of Sumatra, the people of Lampung poured their trading profits into ceremonial materials and artful adornments. Wealthy women of this region created a distinctive genre of garments that exemplifies their family prestige, clan identity and affluence. These ornate tubular sarongs, or tapis, were woven from cotton in horizontal stripe design and further decorated with metallic threads, silk embroidery, mica fragments and other shiny materials. They were worn with similarly decorated long-sleeved jackets. This example is almost totally covered with couched metallic thread.