Until recently, little attention had been paid to the textiles arts of Southeast Asia outside of the Indonesian archipelago. Textiles produced in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Burma share many characteristics with those made in Indonesian islands. Since the IMA has a strong Indonesian textile collection, it is logical to collect comparable pieces from countries in mainland Southeast Asia. These textiles are related not only through their design vocabulary and method of production, but also share similarities in function and cultural context. This is the first textile that the museum has acquired from Thailand, an area of the collection that will see much growth in the future.