Headcloth (Yakan seputangan) (c. early 1900s): Art, History and Details

Headcloth (Yakan seputangan) (c. early 1900s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This seputangan (headcloth) was produced by the Yakan people of Basilan, and worn by men in ceremonial, formal, and dress contexts. The cloth was woven on a back-strap loom with a cotton warp and patterned using supplementary-weft silk, which produces the characteristic lustrous motifs across the surface. The vivid, high-contrast color combinations are characteristic of Yakan ceremonial textiles.

Object facts

• Title: Headcloth (Yakan seputangan)
• Date: c. early 1900s
• Culture: Philippines
• Type: Garment
• Technique: plain weave with paired weft: cotton; supplementary weft: silk
• Dimensions: Overall: 97.5 x 95 cm (38 3/8 x 37 3/8 in.)
• Collection: Textiles
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1917.746

A detail from the museum

This textile’s geometric intensity recalls the Tausug pis siyabit, but is technically and culturally distinct.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. G. Field Adams

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.