Embroidered Jacket : Extremely Fine Akha Hand Embroidered Ladies Jacket From Northern Thailand #426

Embroidered Jacket 426. Made with hand woven and dyed cloth, hand embroidered in detail and adorned with hundreds of Job's tear seeds. Collected from the Akha in hills around Chiang Mai, Thailand over 50 years ago. Excellent condition. A real one of a kind piece of art from long ago. Villages of these colorful people are to be found in the mountains of China, Laos Myanmar (Burma) and northern Thailand. There are approximately 20,000 Akha living in Thailand's Northern provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai at high altitudes. This tribe originated in Tibet. Every Akha village is distinguished by their carved wooden gates, presided over by guardian spirits. They life in raised houses on low stilts, with a large porch leading into a square living area with a stove at the back. The roof is steeply pitched. They live on marginal land and find it difficult to eke out a living through their slash and burn method of agriculture. In order to supplement their income, many Akha are now selling han