Bottom piece:  Motifs of the "Buah Nabau" / "Serpent Pattern"

Below are general views of traditional Pua kumbu of Borneo, it has nothing to do with this auction:

The Pua weaving or the Pua Kumbu is a ritual blanket used for religious ceremonies, festivals “Gawai”, ceremonies associated with birth, death, healing or “soul-searching” and war of headhunting. It serves as a means of communication between this world and the world of ancestors, spirits and gods. 

Here, the weaver puts down a woven graphic design of the Iban animistic beliefs, the spiritual realm (“antu”) and the world view of life around them ie. the trees, animals, insects, jungle life, natural and supernatural life. Each weaver never draws up the image she intended to dye. The designs are vested with meaning and energy. The more powerful a design, the closer it brings an Iban to the spiritual world. The more powerful the design, the greater the danger for the weaver. 

The Weaver-Chemist: All the dyes used in the traditional Pua Kumbu are vegetable and fruit(mango stein-reddish color) origin, and the method of preparing the “mordant bath” for the cotton yarn and the actual dye-bath are only carried out by the special divinely-ordained weavers accorded the status of “Indu Tau Nakar Tau Ngar” or “She Who Knows the  Secret of Measuring Out the Drugs in Order to Obtain the rich colors.

more item at www.borneoartifact.com

PK0164

Measurement:

Length: 99 - 103 cm / 39 - 40.6 inches

Width: 48 - 57 cm / 18.9 - 22.4 inches

Weight: 0.2 kg / 0.44 lb


These are new pua kumbu made by the native workers, all woven, from left:


Top left:  Motifs of the "Buah Nabau" / "Serpent Pattern"

Top right:  Repeated rows of "Surik Air" /  "Streaks in the Water"