This striking piece called Suntiang is made with ancient techniques in gold colored brass and copper, decorated with glass beads and crafted by artisans on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia sometime during the 1980’s. Suntiang crowns are traditionally worn by Minangkabau women in Sumatra for weddings and festive occasions.

Suntiang crowns are traditionally worn by Minangkabau women in Sumatra for weddings and festive occasions. A Suntiang can be quite heavy depending on the size, with a weight up to 3.5 kilograms. The weight is meant to symbolize the burdens that can arise with marriage, and when the bride wears the ornament she demonstrates that she can carry the weight of a relationship.

Minangkabau people are an Austronesian group, native to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra. They were important among the intellectual elite in the Indonesian independence movement and due to their culture that highly values the importance of learning, many are working in educated professions or as ministers. 

Dimensions: 66 x 55 x 20cm with the metal stand. The Suntiang comes complete with the blackened metal stand and its story printed out for you inside a beautiful envelope.