Servet met dessin van garoeda's, geweven voor de prins Mangkoe Nagoro VII van Soerakarta. c. 1928

Chris Lebeau wove this napkin with a design of garudas for Prince Mangkoe Nagoro VII of Soerakarta. What's striking is the interplay between the mythical garuda and the geometric floral patterns, each contained in these neat little squares. The pale palette seems like such a quiet choice, yet it amplifies the graphic punch of the design. Look closely, and you'll see the texture of the woven fabric, a tactile reminder of the handcraft involved. The garuda motif, repeated at each corner, feels ancient and modern at once, its feathery details balanced by clean, stylized lines. The precision of the weaving is just amazing. Lebeau was part of a larger movement exploring the intersection of craft and design, and this napkin reminds me of the Wiener Werkstätte, with its emphasis on geometric abstraction. It's this blend of cultural motifs with a modernist sensibility that really grabs me. It shows how art constantly reinvents itself through dialog.