Artisan Crafted Cotton Ikat Tapestry, "Red Goddess"

Cilli, the beautiful rice goddess, lifts her hands in blessing. Ni Luh Suryati works in the intricate double ikat technique to create this extraordinary geringsing textile. Ikat is a tie dye technique in which the threads are dyed before they are woven. Thus the pattern may vary slightly from that pictured.

These spectacular textiles are elaborated using the double ikat method. Ikat means "to knot" in Indonesian and Malay, and it is a time-consuming process known only to a handful of weavers around the world. Hand-spun cotton is initially dyed an eggshell-yellow hue using the oil of the kemiri nut, before the weaver determines which sections of the thread are to be dyed with what colors. She binds bunches of the fabric together with raffia, creating a tight knot resistant to the dyes in which the piece is to be placed. This process is carried out for each successive color, as the artisan uses natural extracts, such as indigo for the blue tones and root barks for the spectacular vermilion hue. A simple handloom is employed to execute the weave.

Suryati presents the wall hanging on a carved mahogany display rod.