(#8 per Eric Crystal.) Woman’s head cloth. Rectangular cloth consisting of dark blue length of cloth with a piece of red cloth sewn on at each end. Entire cloth is asymmetrical. At one end, smaller piece of red cloth, woven in balanced plain weave, red warp and weft, (41cm x 12 cm), double thickness, has red, off-white, and gold plied threads sewn almost completely around its perimeter, except at two outer corners. Here, plied threads extend beyond cloth and thread ends are ravelled, and 2 layers red cloth are separated to form pockets containing thick tassels of red, off-white, and gold threads. Threads extend ~10cm beyond red cloth. Central blue cloth is undecorated except for sewn pattern of white zig-zag lines bordered on each side by rows of bright pink stitches, near red cloth with tassels. Blue cloth is 112cm L x 40.5 cm W; at other end, where sewn to larger piece of red cloth, cloth has been folded over to accommodate narrower (36.5cm) width of this red cloth. Larger (44.5 cm x 39 cm) red cloth sewn to this end blue cloth. This cloth balanced plain weave, red warp and weft, virtually completely covered with supplementary weft pattern in purple, yellow-green, green, gold, and off-white. Large central motif is multi-colored, woven as colored bands of continuous supplementary weft. Narrow multi-colored band of small motifs at each end of central pattern is woven as discontinuous supplementary weft. These narrow bands themselves are bordered by very narrow weft stripes. Outer end folded over and hemmed; fringe of plied bundles of pink and/or off-white threads sewn to hem. One fringe has remnant of bright pink fuzzy fiber tied around end. 166cmL x 40cm W for most of length; at tassels, cloth broadens to ~45 cm W.
Donor:
Eric Crystal
Collection place:
Vietnam
Verbatim coll. place:
Vietnam. T’ai. Purchased from villagers in Con Cuong and Quy Chao Districts, Nghe An Province.