The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 21, 2025
Tampan Pasisir (Ship Cloth)
1800s
Overall: 72.4 x 66.7 cm (28 1/2 x 26 1/4 in.)
Gift of The Textile Arts Club 1984.50
Location: Not on view
Description
For several hundred years, until early in the present century, textiles of this type played an essential, symbolic role in virtually every southern Sumatran ritual. Since there is no written mythological literature in Indonesia, the exact meaning of the "tampan pasisir" (as this ritual cloth is called) remains unknown. Nevertheless, this fine weaving must be a kind of narrative. Ships, of course, were essential to the life of these island people, and using one as an image for safe passage from one of life's stages to another seems plausible. This rare piece--few textiles of its age and condition from the tropical climes of Indonesia survive--was a most welcome gift to The Cleveland Museum of Art from the Textile Arts Club in honor of its 50th anniversary.- Wardwell, Anne E. Material Matters: Fifty Years of Gifts from the Textile Arts Club, 1934-1984 : [Exhibition] 21 November-30 December 1984, the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Museum, 1984. p. 39; illustrated on cover
- Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).Year in Review for 1984. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 3-May 5, 1985).Material Matters: Fifty Years of Gifts from the Textile Arts Club. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 21-December 30, 1984).
- {{cite web|title=Tampan Pasisir (Ship Cloth)|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1984.50