Temple Textile Pidan
Origin: Cambodia
Date: 20th Century CE
Measurements: 169 x 77 cm
Medium: Silk, natural dyes
Source: Asia and Pacific Museum, Warsaw
http://masterpieces.asemus.museum/Default.aspx
The textile is one of only two of this kind in the museum’s collection that was made before the Khmer Rouge. The weaving is of high quality and the iconography presents a classical set of motifs.
History of the Object
Pidan textiles with their rich iconography related to the life and the cult of Buddha were offered by believers to temples, where they were used as the wall-hangings or ceilings over sculptures. Pidan textiles were also presented on the passage rites ceremonies like weddings or funerals. During the period of Red Khmer terror almost all pidans in Cambodia were destroyed, but some of them still exist in foreign collections such as in The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw. Nowadays the tradition of weaving and the offering of pidan is again popular in Cambodia.
