ASIAN TEXTILES - OATG. Oxford Asian Textile Group

Historical Themes: Trade and Religion19 SILK ROAD TEXTILESIn her third talk Fiona turned to the influences of trade and religion on South East Asian textiles.The first influence came from the coastal trade route between China, Malaysia (Malacca),Sumatra, India and Europe from the sixth century. Use of beads is one evidence of this. Before thissea route, trade took place overland via Vietnam (which had a mixed relationship with China) andChinese textile influence can be found in Vietnam and in Thailand. For example, Thai prayer flagsfor the pagoda are red, black and white with yellow and motifs of elephants or supernatural life;they use a supplementary weft and include elements of ancestral honouring. Influences can also beseen in Buddhist ordination cloths and offerings, ritual cloths for men attending the temple, mats,altar decorations and stands, bindings for scriptures.Ceremonial cloth, silkwith woven warp andsupplementary weftdecoration goldbrocade.Elaborate decorativeborder on three sidesand its gold-on-whitecentrefold. The endsare decorated withfinial motifs on a seriesof mauve, brown andgreen bands, set in ared ground which extendsaround theborders.Chinese costumes were sent to South Eastern rulers and had an influence on local wear, forexample in the shape of jackets and use of asymmetrical designs and materials, includingimported silk. There were Chinese settlers as well, which reinforced these influences and led toethnic sub-groups particularly in Malaysia and Singapore. In these groups women tended to keepto the Malay traditions whereas the men maintained the Chinese, including ancestral offering. Inmodern times, a more eclectic mix can be observed, for example a sarong and kabay (jacket)which includes the use of crochet and European influence in the shaping.Javanese batik shows different regional influences. In the central region it uses mostly indigoand dark brown whereas on the north coast brighter colours are used – red, blue and white –showing Chinese influence, with precise symbolism where the motifs used have clear meaning.These include a variant of the swastika; a floral pattern in very traditional pastel colours with onered panel; and a red, blue, white and black cloud motif, exclusive to Cirebon in North West Java,which shows a clear Mongolian influence. Chinese altar cloths in batik or silk embroidery use aphoenix motif and the red dye used is still in the control of the Chinese today. Satin stitch embroideryis another Chinese influence.