Telepuk: the Malay art of leaving gold on cloth

A carved wooden block, a little natural gum and an almost weightless sheet of gold leaf may not look like much on their own. In the hands of a skilled artisan, however, they can transform plain fabric into telepuk – an intricate Malay textile tradition once closely associated with royal ceremonial dress.

The process is deceptively delicate. During a recent workshop at the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre in Setapak, participants first spread out smooth fabric before applying acacia gum to their forearms, then pressing a carved wooden block against the thin layer of adhesive.

The block was transferred to the cloth, leaving behind the sticky outline of its motif. Gold leaf was then carefully laid over the design and the excess brushed away, gradually revealing floral patterns that shimmered against the fabric.

For those trying it for the first time, the exercise offered a sense of how much patience the traditional technique demands. A misplaced block or uneven layer of gum can alter the pattern; working with fragile gold leaf requires an equally light touch.

Among the 20 participants was businessman Winston Tham from Ampang, who admitted he had known little about telepuk beforehand. Trying the technique himself changed that.

“You cannot love what you don’t know,” the 50-year-old told Bernama. “Previously, I had no idea what telepuk was. If it is not preserved, this art will disappear.”

He believes hands-on exposure could help introduce the tradition to younger Malaysians, including through school workshops.

Langkasuka Movement co-founder Intan Jailani said telepuk involves a combination of four skills: weaving, wood carving, grinding and the application of gold leaf. That breadth of knowledge is precisely why documentation and practical teaching matter.

“The telepuk art had once ceased and remained dormant for almost 90 years,” she said. “Without records and practical training, this heritage craft could disappear entirely from public memory.”

Intan has spent years researching and sharing the tradition and is working on her third book on telepuk, this time focusing on its motif patterns.

“I hope to share more knowledge about telepuk before I leave this world. I want to leave behind knowledge that others can continue to pass on,” she added.

Centuries of motifs and craftsmanship

The workshop formed part of the “Telepuk: The Imprint of Heritage” exhibition, which was held at the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre before moving to the company’s flagship store at Pavilion KL, where it runs until Dec 31.

Rather than simply presenting finished pieces, the exhibition traces the craft through textiles, carved printing blocks, tools and materials, allowing visitors to see how its distinctive motifs were produced.

Among the historical pieces is a mid-19th-century royal attire set known as Baju Sikap, associated with Sultan Sir Abdul Samad and loaned by the museums department.

Another highlight is a collection of 77 wooden telepuk blocks carved between 1920 and 1923 and once owned by Selangor’s Sultan Ala’eddin Suleiman Shah. Now held by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the blocks were also exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley in 1924 and 1925.

Each carved surface preserves the design vocabulary of a craft that could easily have disappeared.

The exhibition also explores what happens when a traditional technique is paired with less familiar materials. Langkasuka Movement co-founder Abdul Razak Aziz said discussions with Royal Selangor led to experiments with tin foil, inspired by historical references to tin being used alongside gold and silver in telepuk.

The challenge was technical: gold leaf is exceptionally thin and pliable, while tin is harder and cannot be beaten to the same delicacy. Even so, the group managed to apply tin foil to fabric and traditional Malay headgear such as the tanjak, producing a different texture and colour while retaining the basic telepuk technique.

Abdul Razak stressed that the work remains experimental rather than commercial, and is intended to explore how the craft might evolve without erasing its traditional foundations.

Ultimately, for Intan and other advocates, preserving telepuk depends on more than displaying finished designs. The craft survives when people understand how it is made, try it for themselves and recognise the skill embedded in each small flash of gold.

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