This all-silk 'phaa hom' is particularly fine, having once been used at the Luang Prabang royal court. Typically, the cloth is composed of two pieces of fabric joined together in an irregular manner to avoid offending the gods. The body of the textile has cream-coloured threads. The eight-point star, diamond, and abstract patterning on the main part of the blanket were woven with red supplementary weft threads, which are extra yarns added during the weaving process. The decorative end panel incorporates weft threads of different colours, including indigo blue which is not usually used on silk, and silver-wrapped yarns. The patterns here include the sandalwood flower motif ('dork chan').

Asian Art Department, AGNSW, December 2011