Woman's ceremonial skirt (tapis kaca)

Long tube skirts decorated with imported silk, expensive metal-wrapped threads, and bits of mirror or mica were worn tied above the chest and under the arms with a thin belt. They were prestige garments made for ceremonial occasions, such as important life-cycle events or festivities celebrating an individual’s rise in social rank. They were woven by aristocratic women in a society that was divided by hereditary and bestowed social rankings.

In the past, throughout island Southeast Asia, many women’s status was tied to their abilities to produce textiles. An example like this, with its many types of stitching, its finely couched metallic threads, and its fine embroidery showed both a woman’s wealth and her skill.