A lot of walking
I recently visited Muzium Tekstil Negara on Thursday, 31 October 2024, to attend an exhibition called Pameran Pesona Telepuk: Seni Perada Emas. Many thanks to Fatimah Rashidi for informing me about this exhibition. I’m glad I went.
This was my second visit to the museum. The first time, I went with my wife, son, and our baby, travelling by car. This time, however, I decided to go alone and take the train, as I wasn’t sure about parking options and thought the train would be more convenient. And it was.
I took the MRT from Kampung Selamat to Titiwangsa, then transferred to the LRT from Titiwangsa to Masjid Jamek. From there, I walked. It was fun. I did a lot of walking and because of that, I managed to explore parts of Kuala Lumpur in a whole new way and do some street photography.
Kain telepuk
Kain telepuk is commonly defined as a decorative technique that uses gold dust or gold leaf on fabric, particularly on polished woven textiles, often with motifs inspired by the lotus flower. The term telepuk may also derive from the Malay words menelepuk or menepuk, which refer to the action of patting or gilding the gold leaf onto the fabric.
Classified as material culture, kain telepuk is an important part of Malaysia’s cultural heritage and is often regarded as one of the most luxurious and beautiful fabrics among traditional Malay textiles.
The incorporation of gold as an embellishment clearly indicates that producing kain telepuk involves considerable expense. It stands to reason, then, that this luxurious fabric has been the choice of royalty and nobility for the past 300 years.
Kain telepuk is produced through two traditional techniques: calendering the fabric, known as menggerus, and the printing technique called menelepuk. This technique resembles that of batik but with a key difference. While batik uses wax and dyes to create patterns, telepuk uses a combination of gum and gold dust or gold leaf for its designs.
The process of completing kain telepuk from start to finish involves several steps. First, high-quality woven fabric is selected. Next, the fabric is polished, followed by woodcarvers creating the telepuk block or sarang. Artisans then apply the gilding, and finally, the finished gilded fabric is polished once more to attain a perfect finish.
A brief history
Kain telepuk has a rich history that traces back to the Malacca Sultanate in the 14th century. It was first introduced in Selangor during the reign of Daeng Chelak, the father of Sultan Salehuddin.
Kain telepuk reached its zenith during the reign of Sultan Sir Hisamuddin Alam Shah Alhaj (1938–1942 and 1945–1960), when the Sultan and Queen Tengku Ampuan Jema’ah Raja Ahmad revived the art of telepuk. This revival led to a significant increase in telepuk workshops, with the Selangor Palace and the royal family beginning to produce their own kain telepuk.
The beauty and uses of telepuk are celebrated in numerous classical literary works, including Sejarah Melayu. Early studies of Malay history and poetry frequently reference telepuk as well. For instance, in Hikayat Misa Melayu, there are several descriptions of telepuk, also known as kain perada.
“Adapun akan berjaga-jaga itu pun sampailah empat puluh hari empat puluh malam. Maka Balai Pancha Persada itu pun sudahlah diperbuat orang, maka terlalulah indah perbuatannya, kemuncak tungkubnya, ditatah dengan emas kerincing dan sulur bayungnya daripada perak, ditatah dengan perda terbang, tiangnya gadingan disendi dengan tanduk diukir dicat dengan sadalinggam, …” (page: 83).
“… Tuanku Raja Ampuan membayar kaul pula menyiramkan paduka kekanda baginda, lalu dipersalinkan dengan selengkapan pakaian yang indah-indah berkain pelangi dan berbaju kesumba murup dan berbulang ulu pelangi. Maka semuanya itu dipercikkan air emas serta bertelapuk dengan perda terbang sekeliannya.” (page: 99).
Sejarah Melayu recounts that Sultan Mahmud of Melaka instructed Hang Nadim to procure kain serasah in Kalinga. Notably, Hang Nadim trained Indian artisans to create patterns and decorations based on his designs to meet the Sultan’s demand for up to forty pieces of kain serasah, each piece featuring forty distinct motifs.
“Hatta maka Sultan Mahmud pun hendak menyuruh ke benua Keling, membeli kain serasah empat puluh bagai; pada sebagai empat puluh helai; pada sehelai empat puluh perkara bunganya. Maka Hang Nadim dititahkan baginda ke benua Keling membeli kain itu; kerana Hang Nadim itu terlalu pandai barang pekerjaan.” (page: 218).
Pameran Pesona Telepuk: Seni Perada Emas
Organised by Kementerian Perpaduan Negara, Jabatan Muzium Malaysia, Yayasan Hasanah, Lamar Dollar, and Langkasuka Movement, Pameran Pesona Telepuk: Seni Perada Emas features 48 collections of kain telepuk along with 130 collections of sarang, or telepuk stamps. The exhibition aims to highlight the art of telepuk through five segments:
- Bunga-bunga Emas Yang Dilupai;
- Motif dan Sarang Telepuk;
- Seni Telepuk Melayu, yang menceritakan Teknik Gerus;
- Koleksi Terpilih Telepuk dan
- Kelestarian Telepuk.
The exhibition is spread across two floors, so be sure to visit both. On the first floor, I discovered the most intriguing exhibit. Wukok Kain. The Malay community uses this traditional method to clean fabrics and garments.
This method not only deodorises textiles but also preserves their colour, particularly in materials such as tenun, songket, and limar. The process involves burning a variety of ingredients as incense, including sandalwood, frankincense, kasturi wood, rock sugar, screw pine leaves, vetiver, and agarwood.
The exhibition is currently ongoing (at the time of writing). From 28 October 2024 to 31 December 2024, and is open from 9 AM to 5 PM. Admission is RM2 for adults.
While I recommend visiting by car, I’m unsure about parking availability. Public transport is a great alternative. You can take the train and enjoy a short walk to the museum. Don’t forget to check out the River of Life during your visit! Thank you for reading. More pictures on Instagram.
References:
Fauzi, F., Hassan, S., Ariffin, N. A. N., & Jali, J. M. (2024). Sejarah kesenian kain Telepuk: Perkisahan sejarah seni warisan yang semakin hilang. Jurnal Kajian Lisan Malaysia, 2, 110-119.
Dasuki, S., Noh, L. M. M., & Razak, H. A. (2023). ANALYSING THE EXPRESSIVE CULTURE OF TELEPUK TEXTILE AS MALAY MATERIAL CULTURE HERITAGE. Journal of Islamic, 8(54).
Baharom, S. N. A. S., & Md. Nawawi, N. (2016). Transformation of Traditional Telepuk Motifs into Contemporary Artwork. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Colloquium of Art and Design Education Research (i-CADER 2015) (pp. 637-646). Springer Singapore.
Fauzi, F., Hassan, S., Ariffin, N. A. N., & Jali, J. M. (2024). Sejarah kesenian kain Telepuk: Perkisahan sejarah seni warisan yang semakin hilang. Jurnal Kajian Lisan Malaysia, 2, 110-119.
