Quartets of petals delicately grace this wall hanging by Ni Luh Suryati, as beige outlines transform the dark, earthen background. Woven entirely by hand, the tapestry reflects ancient gerinsing ikat techniques. In Bali, these cloths are often considered to possess magical and protective powers The spectacular geringsing textiles of Bali are elaborated using the double ikat method. Ikat means to knot in Indonesian and Malay, and it is a time-consuming process known only to a handful of weavers around the world. Hand-spun cotton is initially dyed an eggshell-yellow hue using the oil of the kemiri nut, before the weaver determines which sections of the thread are to be dyed with what colors. She binds bunches of the fabric together with raffia, creating a tight knot resistant to the dyes in which the piece is to be placed. This process is carried out for each successive color, as the artisan uses natural extracts, such as indigo for the blue tones and root barks for the spectacular vermilion hue. A simple handloom is employed to execute the weave. This design is named Enjekan kebo, meaning buffalo's footprint.
