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PAPUAN SHELL NECKLACES: CUNNING CANNIBALS, COWRIE CURRENCY + CARVED CORAL

PAPUAN SHELL NECKLACES: CUNNING CANNIBALS, COWRIE CURRENCY + CARVED CORAL

by ansera5_wp | Aug 21, 2016 | Sourcing research

Try saying that really really quickly. The island of New Guinea, the world’s second-largest, lies just north of Australia at the far eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, where the Coral Sea becomes the South Pacific. The land mass is split right down the...
TRIBAL STATUES IN EAST INDONESIA: THE PROTECTION OF THE ANCESTORS

TRIBAL STATUES IN EAST INDONESIA: THE PROTECTION OF THE ANCESTORS

by ansera5_wp | May 13, 2016 | Sourcing research

The islands of Timor, Sumba and Flores are towards the east end of the long chain of beaches, paddies, volcanoes and coral reefs that make up the Indonesian archipelago. I’ve written about them all before (see here for Timor / Sumba / Flores) in the context of their...
SONGKETS IN BALI: GLITTERING THREADS, GLAM ROYALS AND GOLD GOLD GOLD

SONGKETS IN BALI: GLITTERING THREADS, GLAM ROYALS AND GOLD GOLD GOLD

by ansera5_wp | May 5, 2016 | Sourcing research

The origins of the songket weaving technique seem to be a little murky and mysterious, with a few different theories about when and where exactly it evolved.  I’ve picked the one I like best to write about here – not exactly a scientific process but...
IKATS IN FLORES: THE INFLUENCE OF NUNS, VOLCANOES AND THE SPICE TRADE

IKATS IN FLORES: THE INFLUENCE OF NUNS, VOLCANOES AND THE SPICE TRADE

by sarah@anserai.com | Apr 10, 2016 | Sourcing research

The island of Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, just a short hop across the ocean from Sumba {which I wrote about recently – see here}. It is a hugely diverse place in terms of tribes, topography, textiles and tongues. Because of its...
IKATS IN TIMOR: PESKY RAJAHS, ANCESTOR WORSHIP AND SQUIGGLY CROCS

IKATS IN TIMOR: PESKY RAJAHS, ANCESTOR WORSHIP AND SQUIGGLY CROCS

by ansera5_wp | Oct 18, 2015 | Sourcing research

I wrote about the gorgeous buna textiles coming out of Timor a while back now, but today I wanted to talk about their ruddy lovely ikats. The island of Timor is one of the major landmasses of East Nusa Tenggara, poking out of the Savu Sea between the Solor Archipelago...
SPOTLIGHT ON: INDO IKAT MOTIFS

SPOTLIGHT ON: INDO IKAT MOTIFS

by ansera5_wp | Aug 22, 2015 | Sourcing research

/ { berry/forest green flowers, stars + dots, black/dove euro florals, indigo/ice blue colonial crests, fig/berry patola-inspired, indigo/forget-me-not basket handles, black/peach {aristocratic} horses }
IKATS IN SUMBA: A FEAST OF COLOUR AND FORM AND DECAPITATED HEADS

IKATS IN SUMBA: A FEAST OF COLOUR AND FORM AND DECAPITATED HEADS

by sarah@anserai.com | Aug 13, 2015 | Sourcing research

The island of Sumba is part of the province of Nusa Tenggara, surrounded by the Flores Sea: It’s always been a little-travelled spot, which has allowed it to keep its traditional culture and animist ‘Merapu’ religion intact for longer than a lot of...
BUNA IN TIMOR: CHINESE MERCHANTS, GECKOS AND COLOUR-POP THREADS

BUNA IN TIMOR: CHINESE MERCHANTS, GECKOS AND COLOUR-POP THREADS

by ansera5_wp | Jan 31, 2015 | Sourcing research

The island of Timor is one of the major landmasses of East Nusa Tenggara, poking out of the Savu Sea between the Solor Archipelago and Australia. Similar to Papua {which I wrote about recently, see here}, it is split slap bang right down the middle, into the very...
IKATS IN SABU: THE TALE OF A SERIOUS SISTERLY BUST UP

IKATS IN SABU: THE TALE OF A SERIOUS SISTERLY BUST UP

by sarah@anserai.com | Dec 30, 2014 | Sourcing research

Sabu {or commonly ‘Savu’} is an eeny weeny little island in the Lesser Sunda group, roughly halfway between Sumba and Timor {also comprising two other even smaller islands, but they’re not massively interesting textile-wise}. It has a very similar...
COWRIE SHELLS: AMONG THE WORLD’S OLDEST CURRENCIES

COWRIE SHELLS: AMONG THE WORLD’S OLDEST CURRENCIES

by sarah@anserai.com | Sep 25, 2014 | Sourcing research

One of my favourite elements of Anserai’s first collection is our range of unique and all natural tribal shell necklaces sourced from Papua, in the very east of the Indonesian archipelago. While sourcing some of these necklaces from a trader in Bali, I...