Hi People
Compared to the textiles of
insular southeast Asia, there's relatively little published and relatively
few collectors of textiles from mainland southeast Asia. And within the
mainland southeast Asian group, Cambodian textiles get less attention than
any other. I don't know why this is so, although it may be that the rather
low level of contrast in Cambodian silks contributes to this. They are
very difficult to photograph without studio lighting, and their very large
sizes adds to this. Another factor is that they are mostly urban or court
textiles, rather than folk art.
I do own a few, and have been
unable to post photos of them for the reasons I mentioned. In rummaging
through my bookshelves, I came upon professional photos of a few of my
pieces that I forgot had been given to me. Here's one of them:
It's a
silk tube skirt, probably dating to about 1900. It's worn by having the
woman step into it and then make a large fold in the vertical direction to
make it fit. Opened up, the length is more than 36", much too large for
the waists of Cambodian women; hence the fold. Like all the old Cambodian
silks that I've handled, it's incredibly light. I find the field design
nearly hypnotic; the borders are a lot like those of the large hipwrappers
worn by Cambodian royalty at the time.
Regards
Steve
Price