This ‘phaa hom’ is not only in excellent condition, but it also a very unusual piece because of its coloration. As typical, the blanket comprises two pieces sewn together in an irregular fashion. The warp and weft threads are a cream colour. The decoration is made by adding extra weft threads during the weaving process (supplementary weft weaving). Only the end panel has supplementary weft threads, with the remainder of the blanket decorated maroon silk supplementary weft threads. The pattern on the main part of the textile is a combination of a diamond lattice design, eight-point stars, and floral motifs arranged so that each element is part of the others. The decorative section at the end of the blanket contains diamond shapes, stripes, and a pattern that looks like a fringe (‘soi saa’). This is related to the Thai and Cambodian ‘yantra’ textile motif that forms a protective border on textiles. The supplementary weft yarns on the end section are pink, salmon, turquoise, and dark purple. Some of the threads are metal-wrapped. The patterns include “dork keo’ (jasmine flower motif), ‘kuut’ (fern), and ‘dork chan’ (sandalwood flower motif).

Asian Art Department, AGNSW, December 2011