1990.203 Shroud or ceremonial hanging (Papori to Noling)

The complex angular patterns of this textile—diamond shapes with hooks—can be interpreted as stylized human torsos with four limbs that represent many generations of ancestors. Such textiles were used in ceremonies surrounding the death of honored persons. They functioned as shrouds to wrap the honored dead or wall hangings that provided a backdrop for the principal participants at funerals or other important ceremonies.

Papori to Noling means "ikat weaving of the Noling people," in reference to the method of dyeing warp yarns before weaving them into cloth and to the center of this weaving style. It would have taken many weeks or moths of steeping the yarns in dyes made from the indigo plant and the roots and bark of Indian mulberry to achieve these shades of blue (indigo) and red (mulberry).

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, 2016.

1990: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Eugene McDermott Foundation, purchased from Pacific American Corp. (Steven G. Alpert), Dallas, Texas

Notes:

The main source for this provenance is the Acquisition Checklist in the Collections Records object file (1990.203).

Apply to objects where number equals 1990.203