Acheik (အချိတ်; [ʔət͡ɕʰeɪʔ]) or luntaya acheik (လွန်းတစ်ရာအချိတ်; lit. 'hundred shuttle acheik'), is the name of the indigenous Burmese textile pattern. It features intricate waves interwoven with bands of horizontal stripes, embellished with arabesque designs. Luntaya (လွန်းတစ်ရာ; [lʊ́ɴtəjà]), which literally means a "hundred shuttles," refers to the time-consuming, expensive, and complex process of weaving this pattern, which requires using 50 to 200 individual shuttles, each wound with a different color of silk.[1][2] The weaving is labor-intensive, requiring at least two weavers to manipulate the shuttles to achieve the interwoven wave-like patterns.[3]
Acheik is most commonly used as a textile for male paso or female htamein. The color palettes used in acheik incorporate a bold array of contrasting shades in a similar color range to create a shimmering trompe-l'œil effect.[3] Designs for men feature simpler zig-zag, cable and interlocking lappet motifs, while those for women interweave undulating waves with arabesque embellishments such as floral motifs or creepers.[3]
- ^ Green, Gillian (2012-05-25). "Verging on Modernity: A Late Nineteenth-Century Burmese Painting on Cloth Depicting the Vessantara Jataka". Journal of Burma Studies. 16 (1): 79–121. doi:10.1353/jbs.2012.0000. ISSN 2010-314X. S2CID 162846149.
- ^ "Silk acheik-luntaya | V&A Search the Collections". collections.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ a b c Green, Alexandra (2008). Eclectic Collecting: Art from Burma in the Denison Museum. NUS Press. ISBN 978-9971-69-404-3.