Ceremonial or Wedding Dress  Malong Landap
Maranao People, Mindanao, Philippines
Early 20th century
Silk, natural dyes; plain weave, tapestry woven bands (langkit)
35 x 70 inches  (87.5 x 175 cm)

This brilliantly-hued tubular garment, which enveloped the entire body, was constructed with alternating panels of solid color silk cloth joined by vertical and horizontal tapestry bands of superb workmanship. The color scheme was once reserved for members of the numerous Maranao royal houses, especially the lustrous yellow color,which was probably obtained from turmeric and is juxtaposed with an equally vivid and royal shade of magenta purple. Multiple colors (green, blue, purple, black and white) were used in the elaborate ornamental bands, which feature an intricate, curvilinear foliate or floral design ( okir) that oulines the implicit shapes of a large mask/face and a squatting form in the negative space. As Roy Hamilton notes in From the Rainbow's varied Hue (Fowler Museum/UCLA, 1998) the handwoven malong langdap is generally considered "the crowning achievement of Maranao textile artistry".