Silk Shoulder Cloth

Description

This textile is used as a shoulder cloth for women to wear to temple, and for use during special ceremonies or wedding. It is made from village-raised, hand-reeled silk, naturally dyed, and handwoven on a hand-built loom in Houaphan Province, Laos.  The weaver is Sukkhavit, a late 60’s year old Lao Loum woman, who has been weaving since she was young.

The dyes used include lac (red), annatto (orange), maak lin mai (olive green – it is from the huge seed pod of a large tree – name unknown in English), the bark from the Duabanga-grandiflora (old gold – tree named Kor Ben in Lao), fresh indigo (light green), Duabanga-Grandiflora overdyed with dirt from the burned rice fields (light grey is dirt for 40 minutes, black is dirt for 4 days and 3 nights).

The motifs are mythological creatures that are spiritually protective, and include mythological hong birds whose belly is the rainbow, ancestor spirits riding on the backs of the hong birds, mythological river serpents, and an assortment of flowers.  The tassels on the ends of the cloth are flowers made from inverted silk cocoons with twisted silk threads.

Dimensions: 6.75” X 84”

For more detailed information see the website of Above the Fray: www.hilltribeart.com.