Page 70 - The Guide To Malaysia 9th Edition

66 THE ARTS
Nancy Ngali, an Iban weaver from Sarawak, received the World Crafts Council Award of Excellence in 2018 for her magnificent Pua Kumbu textiles.
Sarawak’s artistic history can be traced back to Neolithic times, with evidence of wall paintings
and pottery found in the Niah Great Cave. Today, contemporary touches
are present in the state’s traditional art forms, such as basketry, yet traditional Iban pua kumbu textiles are still widely available, with their highly distinct geometric motifs woven
on simple backstrap
looms. Also noteworthy is the colourful and intricate beadwork of the Orang
Ulu. Superb examples of all these crafts can be found at the Sarawak Museum and Textile Museum in Kuching.
In Sabah, the weaving and basketry of the Rungus and Bajau people can still be seen today, and traditional aesthetics have provided
a rich source of inspiration for contemporary artists. One of the best-known works is Sabahan Bayu
Utomo Radjikin’s Lang Kacang of 1991, a cement and metal sculpture of
a Kadazan warrior with
his head thrown back, his mouth frozen in a powerful scream. Pusat Kraftangan Sabah in Keningau has
an excellent selection of traditional crafts, especially woven household objects.
A walk through the centre’s workshops reveals a thriving learning environment where young apprentices inherit traditional skills from master artisans.
Pewter
One art form that has moved fluidly from the
past into the present is pewtersmithing, whose preservation can largely be attributed to Royal Selangor. The company was started
in 1885 by Yong Koon, a
Iban master tattooist Ernesto Kalum creates a traditional hand tapped tattoo at his studio in Kuching.