Woman's head cloth (kiet)

Cambodia

age unknown; perhaps first half of 20th century

resist tie-dyed silk

width 33 3/4 x length 75 inches

provenance:  collected in Cambodia by Jack Daulton

Inv. no. 28

The central field features naga (serpent) motifs, including two entwined pairs.

These tie-dyed head cloths are associated with the Cham or Malay (Muslim)

minority in Cambodia, but the presence of the naga motifs suggests that this head cloth was made for a Cambodian (Khmer) Buddhist market.

References:

Gillian Green, Traditional Textiles of Cambodia (Chicago: Buppha Press, 2003), 172-179.

Gillian Green, Pictorial Cambodian Textiles (Bangkok: River Books, 2008), 61-73 (see, esp., 71-73).