Vintage Hmong Story Cloth 1975 Laos War Refugee Textile Merced Cooperative For Sale
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Vintage Hmong Story Cloth 1975 Laos War Refugee Textile Merced Cooperative:
$649.95
Vintage Hmong Story Cloth 1975 Laos War Refugee Textile Merced Cooperative
VINTAGE HMONG 1975 WAR & REFUGEE STORY CLOTH – ORIGINAL MERCED REFUGEE AFFAIRS COOPERATIVE LABEL
Offered is an exceptional vintage hand-embroidered Hmong narrative story cloth, or paj ntaub, depicting one of the most consequential periods in modern Hmong history: the violence, displacement, and flight of Hmong people surrounding the end of the war in Laos in 1975.
What makes this example particularly compelling is that the historical narrative is actually identified in the embroidery itself.
Prominently stitched into the textile are the words:
“NYAB LAJ TUA
HMOOB TAWG
ROG THAUM
75”
The inscription can be understood in context approximately as:
“The Vietnamese attacked/killed the Hmong, causing the Hmong to flee as war refugees in 1975.”
Of particular importance is the Hmong expression “tawg rog,” which is documented as referring to fleeing or becoming displaced as a refugee because of war.
The imagery directly illustrates the inscription.
Green-uniformed armed soldiers are shown aiming and firing rifles toward Hmong villagers. The artist has even embroidered individual lines extending from the rifles toward the fleeing people to represent gunfire/bullets. Figures are shown falling and fleeing, while other villagers carry packs and belongings as they move through the landscape.
Traditional houses, mountains, trees, plants and village scenes surround the human figures, creating a remarkable embroidered narrative of village life interrupted by armed conflict and displacement.
This is much more than a decorative textile. It is a piece of Hmong narrative folk art preserving historical memory through embroidery.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTATION / PROVENANCE
Even more importantly, the original paper identification label remains attached to the reverse.
It reads:
CULTURAL DESIGNS – HANDICRAFTS
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Merced Forum On Refugee Affairs
Arts & Crafts Cooperative
The survival of this original cooperative label provides important period context connecting the textile with Southeast Asian refugee arts and crafts activity in Merced, California.
The label remains attached exactly as found and has not been removed or replaced.
SIZE
Approximately:
16½ inches wide × 26½–27 inches long
Please refer to the photographs showing the textile alongside rulers for the actual measurements.
CONSTRUCTION
This is a genuinely hand-worked textile. Close-up photographs clearly show the individual embroidery stitches, variations in the thread work, hand-formed figures, vegetation, houses, weapons, clothing and lettering.
The textile has a deep blue field surrounded by multiple contrasting borders and a coordinating dark blue outer border. The reverse is backed with a natural-colored woven fabric.
The extensive hand embroidery includes:
• Hmong-language historical inscription
• Armed soldiers with rifles
• Embroidered lines depicting gunfire
• Fleeing and fallen villagers
• People carrying belongings
• Traditional village houses
• Mountains and sun
• Trees, plants and flowers
• Numerous individually embroidered human figures
The small scale makes the amount of narrative detail incorporated into approximately 16½ × 27 inches especially impressive.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Hmong story cloths became an important means of preserving personal and community history among displaced Hmong populations during the refugee era. Makers used embroidered pictures—and sometimes written captions—to record memories of traditional life, warfare, escape and displacement.
This example is particularly evocative because it does not require the viewer to infer that historical subject solely from the imagery. The maker incorporated a written Hmong caption referencing the events and “75,” while directly illustrating armed soldiers firing upon fleeing people alongside it.
The combination of the 1975 historical narrative, embroidered Hmong inscription, explicit wartime imagery and surviving Merced refugee-affairs cooperative label makes this a particularly compelling example for collectors of Hmong textiles, Southeast Asian material culture, refugee history, Vietnam/Laos War history, California refugee history, ethnographic textiles and historically significant folk art.
CONDITION
Vintage condition with age-related wear, handling, minor discoloration/marks and irregularities consistent with a handmade textile of this age. There are some loose or visible threads and other minor imperfections visible in the detailed photographs.
The original paper cooperative label shows expected age and wear but remains attached to the backing.
No attempt has been made to clean, restore or alter the textile.
Please examine all photographs carefully. They are an important part of the description and show the actual textile being offered, including detailed embroidery, inscription, reverse, original cooperative label and measurements.
A powerful and highly visual piece of Hmong historical storytelling with unusually strong surviving documentary context.
From a clean smoke free pet free home. No rips or tears beautiful vintage condition. Displays well.
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