Square, unhemmed fabric sample of handmade batik cloth from Java, Indonesia. Cotton. White, diagonal bands of a continuous pointed line pattern above a row of brown and black diamond shapes, and then a row of which oval shapes. This band is seperated by a line of brown triangles.
Accompanying label reads 'This batik cloth comes from Solo and Jogyakarta in Java, where the very finest batik is produced. The design is made by fist waxing with a copper stamp - a "cap", as in the photo. The cloth is then dyed in indigo, rewaxed, and dyed in soga - a brown dye. The whole process can take several days and involves many specialist skills. The ten designs are all well-known, traditional Javanese designs. The cloth should be hand-washed in warm water the first few times'
stage of manufacture (batik)
Collection Information
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
If you have any further information about objects in our collections or can suggest corrections to our information, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk