Indonesian Cotton Tubular Skirt

Deep indigo cloth dotted with pink and white motifs at the borders.

This tubular skirt from Sumatra is from Sumatra, Indonesia, and dates to the 20th century. It is cotton. Sumatra has many textile traditions, among them ikat, songket and other woven cloths that vary from one community to the next. Long dark blue textile with narrow striped bands at the center, and ends covered in small stepped shapes in rose and cream. The weave is fine, the color slightly mottled, and thin white dots line some stripes. It is 19 inches wide and 73 long.

Dark, understated, and secretly very decorated.