The tricolor design of white and red patterns against a black or deep brown background is distinctive to T’nalak fabric. The fibers of T’nalak are harvested from stalks of abaca, a relative of the banana plant, which has water-resistant properties. The weavers of the T’nalak cloth are the T'boli community, which resides in the region of Lake Sebu on the island of Mindanao. They believe that the cloth permeates sacrality—the spiritual guardian of Fu Dalu guides the fabrication process.
Because it is a fragment, the object’s original purpose or usage is unclear. As value-laden objects with both spiritual and commercial importance, many T’nalak pieces were offered to spirits during ritual celebrations and could be bartered for livestock in exchanges with neighboring communities. Though the uses of T’nalak cloth varied, it was taboo to lay this fabric on the floor.
Fiber, abaca plant
162 1/2 x 21 1/4 in. (412.75 x 53.98 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Barbara Kirk
SC83.9
Not currently on view
Resources
Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, The Asia Society, Sheer Realities: Clothing and Power in Nineteenth-Century Philippines, June 12, 2000 - Oct. 31, 2000.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view July 16 - Dec. 5, 2021].
Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.
