Burmese Textiles
COUNTY BOROUGH OF HALIFAX.
BANKFIELD MUSEUM NOTES.
SECOND SERIES.—No. 7.
(H. LING ROTH, Keeper.)
Burmese Textiles,
FROM THE SHAN AND KACHIN DISTRICTS.
BY
LAURA E. START,
Author of "COPTIC CLOTHS," Lecturer in Education
and Handicraft in the University of Manchester.
With 73 original Line Drawings by the
Author and 9 by Arthur Comfort.
MARCH, 1917.
May be obtained from the Caretaker, or F. KING & SONS, Ltd.,
Commercial Street, Halifax.
PRICE: THREE SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE,
By Post, 3/9.
Notes from Bankfield Museum.
Second Series, No. 7.
(H. LING ROTH, Keeper.)
BURMESE TEXTILES,
From the Shan and Kachin Districts.
PREFACE.
The Shan and Kachin textiles and garments, the consideration and discussion of which form the subject of the following notes, were collected in Burma by Mr. E. C. S. George, C.I.E., at the end of last century, whilst he was on the Commission for the delimitation of the Burma-China boundary.
Belonging to a race of people with whom the world at large has little contact, the skill and craftmanship displayed in the weaving, dyeing and decoration of these cloths should prove of general interest.
With the hope that the results of my investigations may be of value, not only to the visitor to Bankfield Museum, but to many students of ethnology and handicraft to whom that collection may be inaccessible, these notes, fully illustrated, are now offered to my readers.
A short account of the Shan and Kachin races has been included and those to whom a further study of these interesting peoples may appeal, are referred to that excellent work, The Gazetteer of Upper Burma and The Shan States, Rangoon, 1900, edited by Sir J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardman.
It is with pleasure I acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Ling Roth, not only for the opportunity he has afforded me of examining and describing these cloths, but also for the valuable assistance he has given me in carrying out that work.
March, 1917. LAURA E. START.
| CONTENTS. | |
| I. | |
| PAGE. | |
| The Geographical Situation of the Shan States | 2 |
| The History of the Shans or Tai, their Appearance and Dress | 3 |
| The Arts of Weaving and Dyeing, with a note on Native Design and Methods of Decoration | 7 |
| Discussion of the Shan Garments and Textiles | 13 |
| The Kachins, their Origin, Habitat, Dress and Ornaments | 37 |
| Descripion of the Kachin Garments and Wallets | 44 |