ISBN: HB: 9783791387659

Prestel Publishing

October 2021

526 pp.

34,0x25,6 cm

450 colour illus.

HB:
£75.00
QTY:

Categories:

Textiles of Indonesia

The Thomas Murray Collection

Drawn from one of the world's leading textile collections, this magnificently presented array of traditional weavings from the Indonesian archipelago provides a unique window into the region's cultures, rites, and history.

Gathered over the course of four decades, the Thomas Murray collection of Indonesian textiles is one of the most important in the world. The objects comprise ritual clothing and ceremonial cloths that tell us much about the traditions of pre-Islamic Indonesian cultures, as well as the influences of regional trade with China, India, the Arab world, and Europe. As with the earlier volume, Textiles of Japan (Prestel, 2018), the book focuses on some of the finest cloths to come out of the archipelago, presenting each object with impeccable photographs. Geographically arranged, this volume pays particular attention to textiles from the Batak and the Lampung region of Sumatra, the Dayak of Borneo, and the Toraja of Sulawesi, as well as rare textiles from Sumba, Timor and other islands. Readers will learn about the intricate traditions of dyeing, weaving, and beading techniques that have been practiced for centuries. Original texts by international experts offer historical context, unspool the mysteries behind ancient iconography, and provide new insights into dating and provenance. At once opulent and scholarly, this book arrives at a moment of growing interest in Southeast Asian culture and carries the imprimatur of one of the art world's leading collectors.

About the author

Thomas Murray is a dealer of Asian art, with emphasis on antique Indonesian sculpture and textiles. He has been a contributing editor to HALI magazine for almost thirty years, serves as its in-house consultant on ethnographic textiles, and has featured in more than 50 publications. He lives in California.