The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 10, 2026

A vertical rectangular hemp textile features muted reddish-brown and tan threads woven into rhythmic bands. A wide central column displays repeating anthropomorphic figures, diamonds, and jagged lines in tan against a dark-brown background. Narrower flanking stripes repeat these geometric motifs on a smaller scale. Fine threads detail stylized human-like forms with splayed limbs and geometric torsos. The bottom edge terminates in a short, dark fringe, emphasizing the textile's rhythmic vertical composition.

Mandaya ikat textile (dagmay)

c. early 1900s

Philippines, Mindanao

plain weave hemp, dyed
Overall: 157.8 x 78.7 cm (62 1/8 x 31 in.)
Gift of Mrs. G. Field Adams 1917.748
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

After weaving, abacá ikat cloths were soaked in iron-rich river mud, which deepens the browns and blacks, strengthens the fiber, and sets the dyes.

Description

This textile is a Mandaya abacá ikat cloth woven in southeastern Mindanao. It is made from hand-stripped abacá fibers that are resist-dyed using the Mandaya ikat technique, in which selected warp threads are tightly bound before dyeing to produced patterned sections during weaving. The designs embody Mandaya cosmology and are traditionally associated with protection, fertility, and the presence of umagad (ancestral spirits).
  • ?–1917
    Mrs. G. Field Adams, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1917–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Mandaya ikat textile (dagmay)|url=false|author=|year=c. early 1900s|access-date=10 September 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.748