1983.140 Ceremonial jacket (sape buri)

An array of materials, colors, and textures create a vibrant, powerful composition on this woman’s ceremonial sleeveless jacket. Set amid the stitched shells are swatches of red, yellow, and green trade felt, metallic sequins, and strips of multicolored trade cloth. Along the border, Dutch silver coins dating back to 1701 dangle from a single strand of tacked glass beads. The open spaces between the jacket’s embellishments are filled with an interlocking mesh of protective designs, which form composite creatures that are said to be part dragon and part scorpion. The creatures’ eyes are highlighted by circles of red felt, which along with their ovoid mouths and flaring nostrils are composed of Nassarious shells.

According to some informants, jackets like this one were commonly worn by high-ranking Maloh women during the ritual of naming a child.

Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, 2013.

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 1983.140