The Tracing Patterns Foundation Collection
Helena Hernmarck and Mary Hunt Kahlenberg Indonesian Textile Collection
In May 2022, we received a wonderful donation of 25 Indonesian textiles from the collection of Helena Hernmarck, which was assembled with the help of her dear friend, Mary Hunt Kahlenberg.
Learn more about this collection in her interview with…
“I’ve always been very aware of the importance of archives and the fact that scholars need them to be able to keep working. Here in America, the museums are not supported by the state like they are in Sweden, so here everyone has to contribute to keep it rolling. Mary certainly contributed through her scholarship on Indonesian textiles. She was so brave I thought, but she was an adventuresome person. She was an extraordinary person, an inspiration. I think she would be happy to know that I’m handing the collection over to an organization that will use it for teaching and scholarship, and eventually return some of it to Indonesia.”
Helena Hernmarck, March 15, 2022
How Is It Made?
Ikat
Ikat means “to tie” in Malay/ Indonesian languages. Here are two women in Flores Island, Indonesia, tying bundles of white cotton threads that are stretched on a frame. They use palm leaves as the ties. Each tie creates a knot that held the threads together, and the arrangement of many knots create…
Exhibition
Material Culture
This exhibition complements the Fiber and Stone: People of the Baliem Valley exhibit. It highlights some of the fascinating artifacts from the collection of the Hampton Archive at the Tracing Patterns Foundation. These beautiful, well-crafted, and meaningful objects were made and used by the Dani and Yali people….