tribaltextiles.info

Going through some textile-filled cases I came up with this baby carrier collected several years ago. With the absence of books scattered in different countries and not having seen this in Taiwanese collections I am not sure - could it be Dong? The weaving is well executed with the layout not too disimilar to a piece posted earlier.
The top of the carrier has an unusual woven piece that has been cut into shape and stitched into place.
The two 'border' strips are formed by joining two woven bands together.
The central section is divided in four parts: the uppermost section forms a large section to just below the row of figures and animals; then a smaller horizontal band up to the 5 vertical bands.
The 5 vertical bands are formed formed from two pieces joined horizontally about halfway down the vertical band section.
The head cover (not shown here) is of plain indigo dyed baste fibre.

Hi Iain

A great and finely woven textile! Several of the motifs say loudly to me 'Dong' probably from Hunan (Tongren) and something I fall for every time! The book in your scattered library that you need to see - and you would be able to read the completely Chinese text - is Minjian Zhijin see the post you started http://www.tribaltextiles.info/communit ... ian+zhijin and all the weaving in http://www.tribaltextiles.info/communit ... 3&start=15

Love it!

best

_________________
Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

I think Pamela is right that this is Dong. I am posting a couple of pictures of a Dong blanket made from 3 panels of similar weaving.

It is difficult to be 100% sure though, because some of the Miao people nearby weave supplementary weft (typically single-panel headscarves rather than blankets) that is nearly identical, including that little human-like figure in Ian's photos.

_________________
www.toranatribal.com

this headscarf was described by its seller as "Miao, from Ping Yong area". I have seen several similar pieces with near-identical designs. The truncated hook shape is nearly identical to the Dong blanket. This also has a row of little human-like figures similar to those on Ian's baby carrier.

There are also some rather cute little children's jackets (Dong?) made from similar supplementary weft textiles. I think I remember seeing some on the forum...

_________________
www.toranatribal.com

...a few of the children's clothes from recycled Dong blankets are at the link I posted above http://www.tribaltextiles.info/communit ... 3&start=15

Great Dong blanket, Chris! Yes, these head cloths - with the implied questions 'is it Miao or Dong?' attached - can be very confusing! Either way, very fine weaving from communities that live closely together and absorb each other's skills.

_________________
Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

Thanks Pamela and Chris,

Yup this is the book I was thinking of and I can't remember whether it contained a carrier similar to the one I have posted. At present, for the reasons mentioned - both Miao and Dong using similar patterns and from similar areas - this piece will have to remain as a combined possiblity.

The Dong blanket you posted Chris is wonderful - such beautiful movement all the way through. I too have a couple of similar headscarfs purchased from two different sellers. Although not significantly different from each other one was claimed to be Dong and the other two said to be Miao.

This recently purchased carrier has some similarities to the original baby carrier posted. Also a woven carrier but this time in a range of silk threads. The carrier had been "renewed" by stitching it up in an handwoven indigo dyed piece to give it a solid border - this I have now removed. Although the coloured version does not have the row of human and animal figures, and the lower central panel showing three large vertical columns instead of five, the design of both carriers is similar. Furthermore, with the exception of the handwoven white border strip being added, the construction is identical to to the original carrier posted.

Iain, I thought you (and others) might be interest in a comment I received via from Martin Conlan ('Slow Lorris') about the post above:



Don't suppose I will ever get Martin to join the forum but he certainly follows it and recommends his customers and others to view it as well as sharing his thoughts about it with me, so....can't be bad!

_________________
Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

Beautiful pieces all! I, too, am drawn to these textiles- the weaving is so good and the patterns so interesting. I would also lean toward Dong, but as has already been said, it's difficult to know for sure as the Dong and Miao often live close together and consequently make very similar textiles. Here are a couple of pieces I've had that were attributed to Dong. I would be especially interested in seeing someone wearing a headcloth of this size and design- it seems small, and I cannot figure out quite how it would be worn. Also, I'm sorry the headcloth design seems so dark- it is very densely woven (it actually has a third dimension). I will try to shoot the back so the patterns show better.

_________________
Susan Stem

http://www.tribaltrappings.com
http://tribaltrappings.blogspot.com/

Many thanks Martin via Pamela! How I miss having my library at hand!!
This week I will photograph a selection of these woven head coverings in my collection with the intention of submitting them as a photogallery. If anyone has similar pieces and they are willing to share them with the forum, please feel free to message me with images (an overall shot and any close-ups of noteworthy detail). Any information you may have about each piece (where collected/origins) as well as - for those for whom dimensions rate highly - the length and width, fringes -would be most helpful. I will then collate in preparation for the magic of the TTF tech gurus.
Now to work out photographing the massive woven Dong blankets - step ladders required!

Hi Susan - how these headcloths are worn has also puzzled me for some are quite short and narrow. Were they draped over the head - as seen in a number of Yao headcoverings or indeed wrapped in a fashion similar, for example, to the Miao around Shidong?
The horizontal folding along the length of a couple of smaller headcloths I have (indicated by stained creasing and wear along the fold) may suggest their being worn in a way similar to the Shidong Miao - folded, wrapped around the head and held in place either by tucking in the end or by secure pinning. However, the other larger pieces do not show this worn folding. Location photographs would certainly help! The incredibly fine weaving of these headcloths is fascinating!

Here another recently obtained baby carrier similar to those previously posted. Again I have removed a more recently added indigo dyed cotton border to reveal the red cotton edging on this woven piece. The top of the carrier does not have the "triangular section" of the other two carriers - it appears to have been cut off - but a simple indigo dyed and bean juice-soaked head covering is attached.

Construction is similar to the previous two baby carriers: edge strips joined halfway, an upper central section, followed by a narrow horizontal strip and then a lower central section (the latter a solid woven piece).

On page 151 of the Taiwan National Museum of Prehistory, "Baby carriers" book, by the there is a similarly constructed piece. The main difference being that the dragon edge strips in the book are formed using paste resist. The woven edge strips of the first baby carriers of this post have also been described as representing dragons.

Page 151 was the idea that I had when referring to a post made by Pam N here: http://www.tribaltextiles.info/community/viewtopic.php?t=1096

This is the baby carrier that I am referring to in the book: http://beta.nmp.gov.tw/main/07/7-3/3-2/2-27/048_153.pdf

Iain, Please check your link! This is the link to the whole book.

_________________
Pamela

http://www.tribaltextiles.info
on-line tribal textiles resource

No, the link that I posted does take you to the Miao section of the book. However, my apologies as I should have been more specific in the post. The baby carrier is on page 151 of the book hard copy as previously mentioned. When you click on the link you will get to the pdf file for the Miao Section. Now that the sections are divided up the page numbering of the book has to be seen by scrolling down to the bottom of each pdf page. To keep it simple do the following:
Click the link and then, in the page option, type the number 52 and hit enter - this takes you directly to the baby carrier I speak of. http://beta.nmp.gov.tw/main/07/7-3/3-2/2-27/048_153.pdf (this is page 151 of the hard copy)