1983.141 Ceremonial jacket (sape manik)

In beadwork, the mythical dragon-serpent (aso) often merges like a chameleon with the background. On the back of this jacket, two aso figures with white eyes, green mouths, and curled black snouts face each other. Their orange bodies angle down to the lower edge, supported by a tightly coiled tail.

Myths about heroes making dangerous journeys in search of valuable glass beads are common to the Maloh people. Beads are hard and durable; they are thought to provide strength and longevity to the person who wears them. Beaded garments such as this one were worn only on the most important ceremonial occasions, including marriage, death, the opening of a new longhouse, or a successful harvest. The number of beads on garments worn to celebrate a bountiful harvest was thought to relate to the number of rice grains that would be harvested the following year.

Roslyn Adele Walker, Ph.D., Senior Curator, The Arts of Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific, The Margaret McDermott Curator of African Art, July 2016

n.d.: Steven G. Alpert, Dallas, Texas, purchased in Jakarta, Indonesia

1983: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from above [1]

Notes:

The main source for this provenance is the Pacific American Corp. document titled "Dallas Museum of Art: The Steven G. Alpert Collection of Indonesian Textiles" in the Collections Records file labeled Steven G. Alpert—Indonesian Textiles. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[1] See pages 1-4 of the correspondence between Harry S. Parker and Pacific American Corp. dated October 5, 1983, in the Collections Records file labeled Steven G. Alpert—Indonesian Textiles. 

Apply to objects where number equals 1983.141