Batak Ragidup or Ritual Cloth

A deep indigo cloth with a soft vertical rhythm and a tangle of fringe at one end.

This ragidup, or Batak ritual cloth is Batak, from Sumatra, Indonesia, and dates to the 20th century. It is cotton. Batak weavers use dyed cotton threads and often patterns of bands, and the finished cloth is traditionally made on a backstrap loom. A long narrow cloth in dark blue-grey with pale tie-dyed patterns running in bands down its length. Dark selvage stripes frame the sides, and a short thin red line marks the top while long black fringe hangs at the bottom. It is 31 inches wide.

Quiet in color, but it hums with pattern.