Indonesian Cotton Tubular Skirt

Nearly black, with faint bands of blue and white stitching only visible up close.

This tubular skirt is from Flores, Indonesia, and dates to the 20th century. It is cotton. Flores, in eastern Indonesia, is known for ikat weaving, in which threads are tied and dyed in patterns before the cloth is woven. Long rectangular cloth in deep charcoal, woven in many fine horizontal bands. Small pale dashes and tiny motifs show in thin stripes, with a broad plain dark band across the upper third. It is 27 inches wide and 65 long.

A moody cloth that rewards a second look.