Although centrally situated in the Indonesian archipelago, Lombok has attracted relatively little attention from textile scholars, the largely Muslim Sasaks being widely viewed as rather dull relations of their exuberant Hindu Balinese neighbours across the strait to the west. This richly illustrated lecture will hopefully dispel any notion of Sasak woven textiles as monotonous and inconsequential. And in doing so, provide some understanding of the roots of those Sasak textile traditions that survive in Lombok today.

Frances Ergen has a background in textile design and development in Europe and Japan and has lived in Turkiye for many years, where local textile techniques became a focus. In this talk, Frances will show how the traditional craft of Turkish needlelace has endeavoured to survive, illustrated by her own Oya collection, reference books and other material.