WOVEN INDONESIAN TEXTILES
FOR THE HOME
Text by
Sian E. Jay
with Introduction by
Sandra Niessen
Photography by
Ibham Jasin
PROJECT ADVISOR
Okke Hatta Rajasa
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Bianca Adinegoro Lutfi
PROJECT COORDINATOR
Intan Fauzi Fitriyadi
EDITOR IN CHIEF AND CONTRIBUTOR
Dr. Sian E. Jay
CONTRIBUTOR
Dr. Sandra Niessen
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Erastiany A. Natanegara
PHOTOGRAPHER
Ibham Jasin
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Rafli L. Sato
Published in 2012
CITA TENUN INDONESIA
Jl. Tirtayasa III No. 15
Kebayoran Baru - Jakarta Selatan
Tel/Fax +62 21 726 4134
www.tenunindonesia.com
No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or any
information storage and retrieval system,
without permission of the copyright owners.
First Edition, 2012
ISBN 978-602-97473-1-7
Designed and Produced by
BAB PUBLISHING INDONESIA
Every effort has been made to ensure the
accuracy of the information in this book at
the time of going to press. The Cita Tenun
Indonesia cannot be held responsible for
any inaccuracies and omissions. Readers
are advised to call the various institutions, if
appropriate, to verify details.
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Published by
The publisher would like to thank and express very
special gratitude to the following designers (with a
particular interest in woven textiles), hotels, villas,
resorts and spas, they are:
Agam Riadi
Andi Lim
Anita Boentarman
Ary Juwono
Eko Priharseno
Fifi Fimandjaja
Joke Roos
Prasetio Budhi
Reza Wahjudi
Roland Adam
Sammy Hendramianto
Shirley Gouw
Suyin Pramono
Yuni Jie
The Dharmawangsa, Jakarta
COMO Shambala Estate, Bali
Kayumanis Nusa Dua Private Villa & Spa
Private Residence at Bintang Bali Villa
We would like to extend special thanks to the
residence of Iwan Nurjadin, and Mr. & Mrs. Hatta
Rajasa, the private office at Graha Inti Fauzi and
Roger Tol of KITLV Jakarta
who kindly made available historical photographs
from the Institute’s archives, Soedarmadji J.H.
Damais, Judi Achjadi and Koestriastuti for their
valuable information. A great many other skilled and
able people were involved in the making of this book,
too many to be listed here, but their contributions
are highly valued, nonetheless. To all above, as well
as to those who are not mentioned, the producers
would like to take this opportunity to extend their
deepest appreciation.
5 |
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CONTENTS
Preface
8
Meaningful and Magical 10
Weaving a Welcome
24
Design Décor
54
Directory of Sources
158
Glossary160
Bibliography161
Index162
Indonesia’s rich cultures and traditions include a wide array of handwoven textiles
whose roots go back to the early international trade between the Arab world, China,
India and Europe. Today experts, designers and afficionadoes seek to own, study
and to apply this particular fabric to their daily lives.
Every textile, such as ikat (from Bataklands in North Sumatra; Bangka, Belitung,
most of southern Sumatra; the islands of Flores, Sumba, Rote, Sabu, Ndao, and Timor
in East Nusa Tenggara; Bali; Kalimantan; Rongkong and Galumpang in Sulawesi;
Tanimbar and Kisar in Maluku islands; and also from Gresik and Lamongan in East
Java), songket (from Sumatra, Bali and the islands of Flores and Sumbawa, West
Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, and from Ternate in Maluku), lurik and plain weaving from
Java and many more are widely sought after. They are all unique, carefully produced
by local weavers from many places in Indonesia. These weavers may not have a
modern education but they carry old values and inherited skills, to ensure the quality.
To maintain and preserve this tradition, special attention is needed. Support and
training help increase local weavers’ incomes and at the same time set new standards
of quality and quantity applicable for the demands of the creative industries, such as
the multi billion industry of interior, architecture and decoration.
In recent decades, interior design has become an important player in the creative
industries, directly affecting the income, quality and quantity of related producers,
textile included, with millions of dollars turnover. It is considered an important
milestone for Indonesia’s textile industry as it is single handedly responsible for
giving a unique touch in terms of decorative pattern in interior design.
Many distinguished interior designers local and international, have been inspired
by handwoven textiles of Indonesia applying them in their creations of hotels,
restaurants, spas, villas, resorts and home decor worldwide. This presents a unique
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Okke Hatta Rajasa
Chairperson
Cita Tenun Indonesia
Preface
opportunity for Indonesian weavers to produce handwoven fabric that meets the
international standard.
This book demonstrates how handwoven Indonesian fabrics have inspired the
interior design world, both locally and internationally, and have remained modern. It
covers its traditional meaning, its journey from the traditional context into the world
of modernity and also the exploration of new ideas. Hopefully, it will motivate more
people to pay greater attention to this cottage industry and consequently give positive
encouragement in terms of increasing local weavers’ incomes and to preserve the
quality of our heritage.
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INTRODUCTION
Meaningful and Magical
by Sandra Niessen
11 |
I
ndigenous woven cloth is a gloriously rich component of Indonesia’s cultural
heritage. The island archipelago is vast, encompassing more than three hundred
ethnic groups, each of which has a distinct textile heritage. Few areas on the earth’s
surface can boast such a splendid diversity of textile design, technique and colour.
In previous centuries, before Western clothing became the norm in Indonesia,
magnificent diversity in cloth impressed Western visitors to the archipelago’s biggest
ports. Situated at the crossroads between South and East Asia, harbours were busy
places where nationalities, languages and textile types mingled. The colonial era
had its roots in the Western discovery that to obtain East Indian spices, they would
have to have cloth available for sale. Local people hankered after cloth – but not just
any cloth! Western merchants learned quickly by trial and error that local tastes were
precise and uncompromising. Thus the West joined in, latecomers, to an international
trade in textiles that had been going on for hundreds of years.
That such local tastes were discerning and specific cannot come as a surprise
when one takes into account that the inhabitants of these Southeast Asian islands
had been exposed to diversity in fibre, colour, design, technique and dress styles
for centuries. Waves of culture influence from India, the Arab world, East Asia and
from within the archipelago itself, can still be seen in textiles that are made today.
The textile heritage of Indonesia is the fabulous total sum of an ancient foundation of
techniques, design and know-how interwoven with gradual additions, many inspired
by outside sources. Reviewing the archipelago’s cloth is an unrivalled experience.
The panoply is a feast for the eyes – but also for the intellect because it constitutes
an array of human ingenuity and resourcefulness. It is a demonstration of human
capacity that is precious and deserves to be treasured.
It is possible to write about “an” Indonesian tradition because each of the ethnic
components had access to many of the same local resources and foreign influences.
Despite local genius and distinctive taste preferences, the ethnic traditions are to
some extent like variations on shared themes. They are physical manifestations of
the Indonesian motto, unity within diversity (bhinneka tunggal ika). Indonesian cloth
may be written about in both general and specific terms. My task here is to offer some
insights, however brief, into their meaning.
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The indigenous peoples had time and the opportunity to develop understandings
LEFT: A sitting
of the universe that were consistent and coherent. This is evident even in their
room of a Dutch
textiles, every detail and aspect of which, from production to patterning, are filled with
home in Makassar,
meaning. However, Indonesian society has been undergoing radical change for more
Sulawesi, circa 1936,
showing the use
than a century. New market conditions suck all in their wake. Rapid urbanization has
of two Sumbanese
weakened the fabric of indigenous social organization and traditional thought, the
hinggi (men’s wraps)
ground in which the meaning systems once flourished. New materials, techniques,
as curtains in the
doorway. The bench
cover may also be of
Sumbanese origin.
(Courtesy of KITLV Leiden)
13 |
LEFT: A recently
made Sumbanese
hinggi applied to a
padded screen (locally
designed). Since
the colonial era the
Sumbanese hinggi has
been popular as an
exotic element of
Western interior decor
perhaps because of the
easily identifiable
representational motifs.
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Weaving a Welcome
by Sian E. Jay
25 |
The Use of Traditional Textiles for Interiors
Although the majority of Indonesian woven textiles were made to be worn on the
body, usually wrapped around the waist or chest, there are a few examples that were
intended for display purposes. The Balinese chequered kain poleng, for example,
were used to drape statues; elsewhere woven cloths might be used to cover ordinary
mats during ceremonies, to cover food and offering baskets, or hung up at weddings
and other life ceremonies. Many families throughout the archipelago bring out their
finest heirlooms woven by their ancestors to display on important occasions. While
these textiles cannot be described as constituting interior décor, their presentation at
such events does highlight their potential for exhibition.
When the Dutch gradually colonised the different islands of the Indonesian
archipelago, they were increasingly impressed with the wide array of textile
traditions, and with the arrival of researchers the importance and meaning of the
cloths soon became apparent. Examples began to find their way into museums
and private collections and into the houses of Dutch families striving to create their
homes in Indonesia. It was undoubtedly European women who began to adapt
traditional woven cloths for interior purposes. In Dutch Indonesian homes various
cloths were draped across tables or cabinets, hung up as curtains or thrown across
a settee or bed to liven up the space. Looking at old photos from the colonial period
it is striking just how imaginative the Dutch homemakers were in their adaptation of
woven textiles.
During the 19th century hotels tended to be located in larger cities such as Batavia,
and in the port cities where they served mainly as accommodation for disembarking
ship’s passengers, who had just arrived from Europe, and who were usually en route
to somewhere else. As such the hotels were designed to be clean and comfortable,
serviceable temporary staging posts for those passing through. They were not
designed as ‘ambassadors’ for Indonesian culture; indeed they often sought to be
as European as possible to create a familiar ambience for the homesick, fresh off
the boat. As such the hotels rarely saw a need to use local woven textiles as part of
their interiors.
By the beginning of the 20th century some hotels began to expand and cater to
higher paying people of status and rank. Although we have no photographic evidence,
it is not inconceivable that touches of Indonesian colour and culture occasionally
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RIGHT: Interior of
a Dutch home in
Bengkulu circa 1935.
A warp ikat from
Ende, Flores has been
draped on the table.
This particular type
of cloth was only
made between 1920
and 1940, and it
probably has a dark
brown background
with red and white
motifs. (Courtesy of
KITLV Leiden)
found their way into these spaces. Tourism at that time was relatively intermittent,
and limited to Europeans. They almost certainly would have been interested in
traditional cultures and gradually become aware of textiles.
It was undoubtedly the development of a bigger tourism industry that heralded
the beginning of what became a revolution in the use of traditional woven textiles for
interior décor. The Indonesian tourism industry really got underway between 1910
and 1920 after the Governor General established an official tourist bureau. Many of
the tourists were Dutch already living in Indonesia who wanted to see other parts of
the country, but after World War I an increasing number of people from Holland and
elsewhere began to make their way to the East Indies.
Services supporting tourism began to develop. Bali was by far one of the most
popular destinations, and the Dutch deliberately set out to develop the island as a
tourist paradise. In 1913 Vereeneging Toeristen Verker, the official tourism agency,
published a guide book that covered Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumatra and parts of
27 |
Design Décor
Agam Riadi
Andi Lim
Anita Boentarman
Ary Juwono
Eko Priharseno
Fifi Fimandjaja
Joke Roos
Prasetio Budhi
Reza Wahjudi
Roland Adam
Sammy Hendramianto
Suyin Pramono
Shirley Gouw
Yuni Jie
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Working with the Weavers
One of the greatest challenges faced by indigenous cultures today is to prevent the
erosion and loss of their material legacy. The creation of crafts, tools and knowledge
has sustained people for thousands of years, but confronted by the onslaught of
cheap, mass-produced products, these technical and intellectual skills are in danger
of disappearing. Cita Tenun Indonesia was established by a group of textile lovers
to preserve, develop and promote the textile traditions found throughout Indonesia.
The skills and creativity of Indonesia’s weavers – who are almost exclusively
women – are under particular threat! Cheap, factory produced cloth from Indonesia,
and increasingly from China, means that people turn away from home woven textiles
that become debased and relegated to ‘festival clothing’, while the imported cloth
takes on a status and value that is not warranted by its mode of production.
The importance of traditional woven cloth lies in their meanings; the histories and
values that are encompassed in their production; the time and care that goes into
the preparation of dyes, threads and setting up the loom, as well as the time spent
creating the complicated and intricate ‘works of art’. All of this is now threatened as
people increasingly turn away from the ‘ethnic’ to the ‘modern’.
Cita Tenun Indonesia aims to reverse this attitude towards Indonesia’s woven
heritage by looking for ways to ‘make tradition modern’, to demonstrate that these
beautiful textiles still have a place in the modern world. Indeed, in an increasingly
globalised world where everything looks the same everywhere one goes, nurturing
the traditional to make it modern and make it precious again is the way forward.
Koestriastuti, known as Tria is playing a pivotal role in reversing the decline of
traditional weaving practices in Indonesia. She has extensive experience with the
micro-finance sector of the Ministry of Industry. She was closely involved with providing
financial support for small craft-based workers, including weavers. As a graduate of
product design from the Institute of Technology, Bandung, specialising in textile design
she also has an acute practical understanding of textile weaving. Tria took charge of
the Cita Tenun Indonesia training programme to extend the skills base of the weavers
so that not only would the organisation be able to help preserve weaving traditions, but
also bring traditional textiles to the attention of the modern designer.
In order to adapt and develop traditional techniques, Tria had to go ‘into the field’ to
work with the weavers to find out what was and was not feasible, and then find ways
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59 |
Andy Lim’s first love is furniture design, so when this graduate from the University
of New South Wales interior design school was offered the opportunity to work with
hand woven textiles, he immediately began thinking about how they could be used
OPPOSITE: A blond
wood bedside table by
Andy Lim, blends with
the woven and padded
with his own furniture designs, sold under the label ‘Joop Fine Living’. His approach
head board of West
to furniture is widely acknowledged for its artistic approach, and the feel he has
Javanese weave. The
created in his boudoir design has all the sensitivity of a water lily painting by Monet.
Palembang songket
The room design is created around the rich songket of Palembang, South
Sumatra, which he chose for its intricate detail, and beautifully toned colours. He
bed runner with silver
supplementary weft
on plain-woven white
uses Palembang contemporary songket paired with custom made weaves, using
silk base reinforces the
these for upholstery and the Palembang contemporary songket for the more ornate
soft-hued undertones,
touches such as pillow cases. The result is a beautifully soft pink and grey-blue toned
interior highlighted with splashes of fuchsia.
Andy’s dedication to supporting indigenous hand weaving has led to his gradually
while a songket
covered picture frame,
also from Palembang,
adds a splash.
setting up a new gallery that will showcase Indonesian craftsmanship, focusing on
woodcarving and weaving as he believes that their potential has to be explored to
Indonesian clients are unlikely to request Indonesian-themed designs. Even if he
presents it as tropical or eclectic, he is going to have to work hard to sell the idea.
However, if this interior is anything to go by, ‘selling Indonesia’ may not prove too
big a challenge. The furniture and upholstery, as well as the furnishings may well be
one hundred percent Indonesian, but Andy has managed to assemble them so that
the space has an international feel; one of luxury at that! The bedroom setting would
be equally appropriate in an English country house or Hollywood manor.
He has achieved this by keeping the overall feel clean and simple, and the colour
tones soft and neutral. The upholstery on the chairs and the long drapes were made
by Palembang weavers using a Cita Tenun Indonesia contemporary songket design
in soft grey-blue. These tones were picked up in the padded head board behind the
tenun datar. These soft hued textiles are reflected in the blond stained wood furniture.
To avoid the setting becoming too bland – always a risk when using low and soft
tones – Andy has added highlights to brighten up the space in the form of maroon
Andi Lim
bed, which Andy had specially made, using a West Javanese flat-woven textile or
Beautiful Boudoir
its fullest. He admits, though, that he is up against a great deal of resistance, as
69 |
71 |
OPPOSITE: A luxurious
but simple bedroom has
been created around
For Anita Boentarman a bedroom is a haven of calm and should present a sense of
luxury through simplicity. A graduate in architecture from the University of Indonesia,
Millenia furniture designs,
Anita went on to study interior design at the New England School of Art and Design.
custom modified to fit in
She returned to Indonesia in 1999 when she was offered a post as lecturer at her
with the overall theme.
alma mater while at the same time establishing her own furniture production line,
Credenza embossed
examples of which are featured here.
with West Javanese
textile design from
Anita was set the challenge of creating a bedroom design that is as timeless in
Garut, and screen made
its concept as it is luxurious in its setting. With her architectural background she
using Balinese endek in
approached the project from a structural angle, and using her signature black and
midnight blue. Pillows
white combination – black wood and white accessories – she has created a techno
covered in contemporary
Majalaya (West Java)
feel by adding bold colour combinations. Inspired by an old-fashioned lace mosquito
ATBM loom silk cloth in
net, she also made a dramatic statement about the structure of the woven cloth by
soft hued colours are
laser cutting a Garut floral pattern into the wood for the bed headboard: strength
complemented by the
combined with beauty. These patterns were picked up on the bedside tables and
Balinese hand woven
rangrang bed runner.
credenza though embossing.
To create further bedroom drama, Anita used Balinese endek in deep midnight
blue and bright orange to make two padded screens that can be moved around
| 76
concealing elements of the space.
When she saw the dynamic zig zag patterns of the Balinese rangrang, Anita was
immediately reminded of Italian textile designs by Missoni. The potential of these
textured cloths was immediately apparent. One length found its way onto the bed
as a simple runner; another was converted into cushion covers that were teamed
up with Balinese endek that matched the orange screen behind it. An imaginative
finishing touch to the setting!
Anita Boentarman
Dynamic Dream
to change the feel of the space and play with ideas of revealing and concealing
This was the first time that Anita had used hand woven Indonesian textiles, and
found with imagination she could work around the constraints of size and colour. She
suggests that designers should always be able to find creative solutions to what may
at first appear to be limitations imposed by the size, colour and quality of the cloth.
In fact, so enthusiastic was Anita at creating one room around hand woven textiles,
that she is now in the process of redesigning the rooms of twelve hotels using such
textiles as her source of inspiration.
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