The Seat of an Atjeh Noble is depicted in the Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas as an example of Acehnese aristocratic material culture and domestic life.
Account from Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas (1926) — The Seat
The atlas caption reads: “De zitplaats van een vorstelijken Atjeher. Men lette op de fraaie doeken en kussens, waaruit deze zitplaats bestaat.” (The seat of a noble Atjeher. Note the fine cloths and cushions of which this seat consists.)
Significance
This depiction is one of the few visual records in the atlas of Acehnese domestic and aristocratic culture. The emphasis on “fraaie doeken en kussens” (fine cloths and cushions) suggests a culture of refined textile art among the Achehnese aristocracy, consistent with the broader observation in the atlas that the Atjehers wore distinctive dress characterised by wide trousers (wijde broek) for both men and women, an upper garment (baadje), and for women an additional cloth draped over the shoulders. The seat itself, composed of layered textiles rather than carved furniture, reflects the general Indonesian preference for soft furnishings in aristocratic settings, where rank and wealth were displayed through the quality and elaboration of fabrics.
See Also
Sources
Nederlandsch Indië Platen Atlas met korte beschrijvingen, uitgegeven door Volkslectuur, Weltevreden, Java. Weltevreden: G. Kolff & Co., January 1926. Plate 101.