Managed to take some time off from the gathering at my grandparents to take these set of pictures
Kelantan is well known for it’s handicraft e,g, silver and gold ware, wood carvings, batiks and such. There is a well known bazaar in the middle of Kota Bharu (Kelantan’s state capital) that’s as a one-stop centre to get materials for a bargain. It’s a popular destination for local and foreign tourists…
There are a lot of batiks around but what I really want to show are these:
These are called Songket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songket ; http://www.bibahsongket.com.my/ ; http://www.ppak.kelantan.edu.my/cult...et/songket.htm )
I could not take detailed pictures of the ones at the shop, so here’s one from a personal collection:
This is the back. The middle portion is called the spine and is the most intricate part
The front is just a repetition of the pattern at the sides of the spine. Here's a close up of it
A closer view of the spine
And how the threads are like
This is the bottom edge of the piece
Songket is traditionally hand-woven on wooden looms which I think are not too different from the looms used in Japan to make our beloved denims. I wanted to go and visit the place where these are made to snap a few pictures but simply didn’t have the time to. Not even sure where those places are to be honest but it’ll be fun to hunt it down
Price depends on the material used as well as the complexity of the design. They can start from as low as USD30 and the highest I have personally seen and handled is USD5000. I’m sure they go higher than that…
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