Another thematic component of the exhibition features the princely textiles from Bali.  In Bali, textiles mean more than just fabrics for clothing and decoration -- it is only through them that the richness of Balinese culture obtains its visual expression.  Rituals are inconceivable without significant and adorning textiles; during ceremonies people, objects symbolizing gods and their places are clad in fabrics. 

Since the middle of the 20th century, Basel ethnologists have systematically collected textiles in Bali,  and have studied the backgrounds of its utterly rich textile culture through many years of research.  The exhibition presents thirty exquisite silks and glittering gold cloths which once were regarded as status symbols and insignia of a courtly culture.