RvH Antique Textile Collection

My collection features over 400 textile pieces gathered over 15 years, showcasing diverse cultures, techniques, and artistry. Each textile carries stories and traditions, reflecting the artisans' dedication to their craft. The variety of materials and methods highlights human creativity in fabric making. Here is a small sample.

*Prices under request.

Silk Embroidered Baby Carriers

"Charged with a unique emotional message, the baby carrier expresses the love of a mother for her child and her hopes for the future. It is a symbolic extension of the umbilical cord. Every stitch and thread of a mother's embroidery work on her baby carriers is the deepest expression of her love to her child."

Prices and full collection of Miao, Shui and other minority people textiles by request.

Circa: begining XXth Century

Origin: Baby carrier, Shui people, Guizhou province, China

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Chinese in Sumatra

"The Chinese have a long history of trade and religious contact with the Indonesian archipelago. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Chinese traders and artisans settled along the coastal towns of the archipelago. Their descendants, known as Peranakan Chinese, adopted aspects of local culture and spoke a colloquial form of Malay, but maintained Chinese beliefs, dress and rituals such as wedding customs and practices of worship." Keep reading...

Prices and full collection of Chinese-Sumatran Textiles by request.

Circa: Late XIXth Century

Origin: North Sumatra, Indonesia.

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West Sumatran Ceremonial Cloths

The Minang woman of Sumatra developed a rich variety of textiles that included ceremonial forms as well as other types, which were used as clothing. Among the most visually striking textiles are these intricately square-shaped cloths that were exchanged during important rites of passage. They were displayed or exchanged at both birth and death, at marriages, circumcisions, and ceremonies marking changes in social rank. They served as the focal point for ceremonial meals, as the seat for the elders who oversaw traditional law, and were tied to the ridge poles of newly built houses. They were a sacred force that bound society together.

Prices and full collection of Sumatran Textiles under request.

Circa: Early XXth Century

Origin: West Sumatra, Indonesia.

**Embroidered Baby Carriers**
Circa: Early XXth Century
*Origin:* Miao people, Yunnan province, China

Circa: Early XXth Century
*Origin:* Miao people, Yunnan province, China

More pieces soon.