Kain Tapis
Tapis is the ceremonial woven and embroidered cloth of the Lampung people of southernmost Sumatra — one of the most technically complex textiles in Indonesia, combining handwoven cotton ground with supplementary weft patterning, embroidery in gold thread, and the application of mica mirrors and sequins in a single cloth. The result is a textile of extraordinary visual richness — the mica mirrors catch light and produce a shimmering, animated surface that no photograph fully captures. Specific Tapis types are prescribed for specific Lampung adat occasions and social ranks — the Jung Sarat (most elaborate, highest rank) may take a year or more to complete. The Lampung Tapis tradition GI Tag was granted in 2014.
Risk level: Endangered · Not inscribed; GI Tag 2014
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