Girdle

Man's loincloth, fringed textile, made of cotton, with mata-mata designs of stripes and diamond shapes in red, yellow and blue 1850s-1910
Curators comments:
Register says: "woman's. "Mayad".; Comment from Darrell Serizawa, 13 March 2019: 'The textile is listed as a woman's girdle but Igorot women wear wrap skirts that are much shorter and wider and have no fringes. This textile is, I believe, a man's loincloth judging by the length and narrow width. As it seems to contain chemically dyed trade threads I would guess it was new when collected and dates closer to 1910. If it were older, closer to 1850, it would not incorporate chemically dyed threads as chemical colors had not been discovered and distributed to international markets yet. The term Igorot is a generic term for any people living in the uplands and mountains and does not denote a specific ethnic group but judging from the Mata Mata diamond patterns and the red and yellow pompoms on the ends of the fringes I would guess this is a Kalinga loincloth.'; From acquisition notes "Igorrot".; Register says: "This whole collection from the "Igorrot". N. Luzon."
Department: Asia

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