Strip weaving is a process using small portable narrow hand looms to produce long strips of cloth, usually of natural fibers, that are sewn together to create larger textiles such as blankets and ritual cloths. As the loom is portable, the weaver can carry the work in progress to the person commissioning the weaving to be sure they are part of and still on board with the process. Heddle-pulleys are used in this kind of loom to ease the movement of heddles and separate the vertical warp threads to allow the shuttle to easily pass through the layers of thread. Placed at the loom’s top, a pair of carved heddle pulleys are carved propitious animals, birds, or other auspicious images that are symbols that attract good luck, ward off evil spirits, and assure the quality of the weaver’s work and comfort the client. African Kuba cloth is made using unique heddle looms as are Burmese textiles. Often, as in Africa and Asia the entire family is involved in hand producing cloth from spinning yarn, coloring, and weaving on the loom.
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This elegant heddle-pulley carved from a single piece of Burmese teak is topped by a hamsa, a sacred Buddhist symbol of wisdom mentioned in the Jakata tales about the life of the Buddha. It is believed that auspicious symbolic animal images protected the weaver, assured quality weaving, and pleased the gods and spirits. This antique piece is wonderfully weathered from time and use.
This heddle pulley, carved from Burmese teak wood (kyun), a durable, dense hardwood containing natural oil, is topped by a carved peacock. A graceful image and a frequent decorative motif in Burmese art, it has a sweeping tail extending to the top of his head with two combs on a long elegantly curved neck. Weathered over the years with minor losses, the skill of the carving is apparent, especially in the carving of the feathers on the wings. It has survived well and is in good condition with surface losses and discolorations from age and years of wear which adds to its charm. It has no repairs or restoration and pairs well with11297B-ZKE .
This elegant heddle-pulley carved from a single piece of Burmese teak is topped by a peacock, which in Buddhism represents the short-lived nature of all things and it also is the emblem of its last dynasty the Burmese Dynasty. It is believed that auspicious symbolic animal images protected the weaver, assured quality weaving, and pleased the gods and spirits. This antique piece is wonderfully weathered from time and use.
In Burma/Myanmar, heddle-pulleys are usually decorated with carvings of mythical or auspicious animals believed to provide protection to and assure good quality weaving from the weaver. This heddle pulley is surmounted with a carved chinthe, a Burmese lion depicted here as a powerful beast with its mouth open in a roar with a powerful neck covered with a thick mane, and hair piled on top of the head, all reinforcing his ferocity. This fine carving is in excellent condition with few signs of wear and age and is mounted on a metal pole on a black wood base. His feet firmly rest on top of the downward-pointing triangle and he pushes his body unnaturally high on its hind legs and bends its tail up and forward to touch his head. This tail-touching-head image is often used with Burmese heddle pulleys to highlight the area under the animal where the thread used in the weaving travels around the bobbin between the wood round triangle pieces holding it.
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