Unknown Maker, Javanese

Symbols such as the broken or double sword (parang rusak) were once reserved for members of the Central Javanese nobility of the Mataram Court (1582-1755). The higher the rank of the individual the larger the motif could be. On the north coast of Java, where court culture had less influence, people of all levels of society wore the parang, thus shifting its cultural weight. Eventually, the potent symbol of power evolved into a fashionable statement, as here in the selendang in which the parang motif functions as a decorative element, alternating diagonals of dark and light, and perhaps a stylized arabesque, which was a symbol of Islam.