DepartmentTextiles-Asia

Ikat Mask

NameFacial Covering

Collective/Group Lepo Lorun Tenun Cooperative (Indonesian)

Designer Alfonsa Horeng (Indonesian)

CultureIndonesian

Date2020

Place madeMaumere, Flores, Indonesia, Oceania

Mediumwoven natural dyed fabric and elastics

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, Museum Purchase, MNM Collection, A.2022.33.1

Object numberA.2022.33.1

ProvenancePurchased directly from the artist and her cooperative, Lepo Lorun.

DescriptionWoven facial covering and protective mask with yellow and white pattern on brown. Black elastic for ears on each side. Made in Indonesia by well-known weaver and founder of Lepo Lorun, a women’s weaving cooperative, Alfonsa Horeng. She has been recognized for her efforts to preserve the tenun ikat, or tiedyed and woven fabric, the style which these masks represent. Made for the Covid-19 Pandemic.
From #Mask Exhibition: Lorun Tenun Ikat, an ikat weaving cooperative in Maumere on Flores Island in Indonesia, wanted their community and friends to stay active, productive, and healthy during the pandemic. Lepo Lorun Tenun founder Alfonsa Horeng explains that when tourism and other industries came to a halt, they continued weaving from home and began making masks. Masks were sold and used by the community to help slow the spread of the virus and to keep safe.