This dissertation investigates ikat from the eastern Indonesian islands from a uniquely technical perspective, including design analysis of asymmetry and microscopy. Paradoxically, this technical... Show moreThis dissertation investigates ikat from the eastern Indonesian islands from a uniquely technical perspective, including design analysis of asymmetry and microscopy. Paradoxically, this technical perspective highlights the human factor. We see 19th- and early 20th-century weavers’ decisions in close-up, as if sitting next to them. This yields rich insights in both materiality and creativity. It also allowed the differentiation of 21 weave types and their distribution across 41 regions in the Indonesian archipelago.Asymmetry is widely distributed, yet has largely been ignored. Ten Hoopen discriminates seven techniques to achieve asymmetry, including visual tricks and illusions. Sumbanese royal weavers made thrilling efforts to hide their virtuosity, using tiny visual devices, secret keys, to reveal that their creations were far more labour-intensive than apparent. Ironically, because they were such great masters at hiding their virtuosity, it remained overlooked by generations of scholars.In his final chapter the author analyses what may have spurred the weavers of the region to create their most time-consuming feats of artistry, and develops a view of these women as more inventive and intelligent than they have been credited with before – and more assertive, using ikat’s prestige to spin their men into a web of taboos and prescriptions. Show less
Studying the connections between the coasts and hinterlands is crucial to understanding histories of the early modern Indian Ocean empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals and Manchus. The Mughal... Show moreStudying the connections between the coasts and hinterlands is crucial to understanding histories of the early modern Indian Ocean empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals and Manchus. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s southern campaigns (1682-1707) were part of the Mughal project of integrating the coasts with the heartland of the empire. This dissertation studies the impact that Aurangzeb’s southern campaigns had on the economy of Coromandel, a major textile producing and exporting region of the erstwhile Indian Ocean where the VOC (Dutch East India Company) had extensive commercial stakes. Instead of causing a decline, Aurangzeb’s southern campaigns transformed Coromandel’s economy by reorienting economic centres. The impact of wars was different across Coromandel. In northern Coromandel, Masulipatnam lost its position of a regional entrepot in the Bay of Bengal, while better food security in southern Coromandel – thanks to good rice harvests in the Kaveri delta – helped the region remain immune to the destabilizing effects of wars and attracted textile weavers from the north. The biggest effect of Aurangzeb’s southern campaigns was the relative rise of the port cities of southern Coromandel. Show less
Goud, zilver & zijde Katholiek textiel in Nederland 1830-1965 Paramenten – de zijden gewaden en attributen voor de katholieke liturgie – behoren wellicht tot de meest verborgen schatten van de... Show moreGoud, zilver & zijde Katholiek textiel in Nederland 1830-1965 Paramenten – de zijden gewaden en attributen voor de katholieke liturgie – behoren wellicht tot de meest verborgen schatten van de kerk. Een kleine selectie van dit oude, rijk geborduurde textiel kwam terecht in de Nederlandse musea, maar het meeste bevindt zich op de zolders van oude pastorieën en komt nooit meer tevoorschijn. In de afgelopen twee eeuwen bloeide de paramentennijverheid in heel West Europa. Ook Nederland kende belangrijke ateliers, die regelmatig kunstenaars van naam in dienst hadden en de mooiste borduurwerken voortbrachten. Het dateren, toeschrijven en op waarde schatten van het katholieke textiel was tot nu toe een vrijwel onmogelijke zaak. Er was te weinig kennis voorhanden om onderscheid te kunnen maken tussen belangrijk en onbelangrijk werk, tussen massagoed en uniek handgeborduurd textiel, tussen echt goud en klatergoud. Als gevolg hiervan zijn veel belangrijke stukken verloren gegaan. Auteur Marike van Roon deed jarenlang onderzoek naar de rijke geschiedenis van paramenten. Naast boeiende verhalen over de gewaden, hun makers en gebruikers leverde het onderzoek alle kennis op die nodig is voor een nieuwe waardering en een beter behoud van dit schitterende textiel. Show less
