Unknown Maker, Mandaya

Many garments indigenous to the southern Philippines feature mother-of-pearl embellishments, like the small disks on this blouse. These adornments are made from mollusk shells by men in the community, who work together with the female weavers to produce the finished garments. Embroidered on the back is a human figure similar to the one in the ikat pattern on the skirt below. This blouse was purchased from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, held in San Francisco in 1915. Many examples of craft and material culture from the Philippines were displayed there, then distributed to American collections.

In the Philippines, mother-of-pearl is used widely to decorate textiles. Indigenous Mandaya makers, known for weaving abaca-fiber textiles, added mother-of-pearl discs to the neckline and hem of this jacket, which glitters in the light. Made from pearl-oyster shells, mother-of-pearl is known for its strength, making it well-suited for ornamentation.

—WC

Symbolic of the power of lightning (kilat), the mother-of-pearl disks (kalati) prominent on this jacket form a defensive shield of sparkling light. The strength of this shell, which can endure grinding, polishing, and drilling, raises it to a level of honor in a region that has used shells as items of decoration and monetary value since Neolithic times.

The abaca-fiber textile studded with shells, disks, and metal sequins also pays tribute to community balance. Women weave the soft material, while men forge the disks. These jackets thus represent the integration of male and female roles and harmony in the world.