THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF JAVANESE BATIK: A BIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY

Author(s): Nina Stephenson

Source: Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol.
12, No. 3 (Fall 1993), pp. 107-113
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of
North America
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Art Documentation, Fall 1993 107

THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

OF JAVANESE BATIK:

A BIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY
by Nina Stephenson

University of New Mexico

Textile traditions are particularly rich throughout Indonesia,

where they have served in social, spiritual, and practical realms
for centuries. Batik, a wax-resist dyeing method that leaves intri
cate patterns on cloth, is also made elsewhere in the world but
has reached its highest level of development on Java, one of the
principal Indonesian islands. In Java batik is made in villages, in
and near the kratons (palaces) and in urban factories and work
shops. There are thought to be thousands of batik designs, many
of which have special cultural significance. Javanese batik has
been an extraordinarily dynamic art form, assimilating a myriad
of inspirations while developing and maintaining a characteristic
Javanese aesthetic. Compared to other Indonesian textile tradi
tions, batik has been extensively studied, although standard ref
erence sources do not necessarily reflect this fact. This essay
surveys the most prominent monographs and exhibition cata
logues, and a few notable periodical articles, written in English
on Javanese batik. Relevant indexes and other reference sources
are included.
The publications discussed here span two centuries and reflect
an evolving concern with the significance of traditional textiles in

Indonesia. Both general and specialized sources are included;

and artistic, anthropological, sociological, historical, religious, and
philosophical concerns are represented. Exhaustive coverage is
not intended, but the bibliographies of the cited sources can be
used for this purpose. Representative monographs on Indone
sian art, culture, and history are included for background infor
mation. Publications specifically concerned with economic and
technical aspects of the Indonesian batik industry are largely

excluded.

A few older studies written in languages other than English

are included as they contain superb illustrations and historical
accounts. The researcher will need knowledge of Dutch or Ger
man to fully utilize these early works. Facility in Indonesian
(bahasa Indonesia) or Javanese is, of course, also useful. Some

research done by Indonesian scholars appears in Indonesian;

fortunately a number of these monographs contain English trans

lations. Due to changes in Indonesian orthography, words may
appear with variant spellings. For instance, tjanting is now spelled
canting tjap is spelled cap, and the city Jogjakarta (or Djokjakarta) is
now spelled Yogyakarta.

Introduction to Batik
The finest Javanese batiks, called tulis, are waxed with a canting
between dye baths. The canting is a wax pen typically consisting

of a copper crucible with one or more spouts attached to a

bamboo handle. The canting is unique to Indonesia and has
contributed to the refined development of batik in Java. A fine

tulis batik can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year to wax
and dye. Exquisitely detailed tulis batik is still made by certain
artisans in Central Java and on the northern Javanese coast, but
its production has declined significantly in recent decades. A
smooth cloth surface is required to achieve the complex pat
terning associated with Javanese batik. Before such cloth was
available through trade, and later through domestic production,
handwoven cotton was used. Villagers near Tuban, in northeast
Java, still batik their own handspun and handwoven cloth (fig
ure 1). Rens Heringa's articles, "Dye Process and Life Sequence"
and "Textiles and the Social Fabric on Northeast Java," describe
the batik tradition in this area.1

Javanese batik artisans have adapted motifs and patterns from

other arts and design sources. Patola cloths imported from India
are still greatly valued for use in weddings and other Indonesian
rites, particularly in the kratons; the motifs and arrangement of
patterning on these powerful cloths (and their cheaper imita
tions) have had a great impact on batik designs. Stylistic and
iconographie influences from Indian, Chinese, Arabic, and Euro
pean sources are still evident in Javanese batik designs.

Cotton batik clothing is both practical and comfortable in

the tropical Indonesian climate. Both men and women wear ba

tik garments made of standardized sizes of cloth, although this

practice varies by locale and occasion. Among the garments

worn are the rectangular kain panjang, which is worn wrapped

around the hips; the sarong or sarung a length of cloth sewn into

a tube and also worn around the hips; and the selendang a

narrower cloth worn draped over one shoulder in more formal

dress or used to carry children or burdens. The oversized dodot is
traditionally worn in the courts, although it is now also used by
the public in the Central Javanese wedding ceremony.2 The iket
kepala, the distinctive wrapped turban worn by Javanese men on
formal occasions, previously indicated the wearers origin and
rank by the style and folding of the head-cloth. In contemporary
Java, however, the iket kepala is usually bought ready-made in
stiffened cloth.3 Javanese batik is worn elsewhere in Indonesia
and Southeast Asia and is popular with tourists and Indonesians
in the form of batik paintings and household items such as
napkins and tablecloths. Batik is now used also for Western cloth
ing and interior decorating. Today the production of batik is
largely a labor-intensive export endeavor, although the making
and wearing of batik still carry cultural value for many Javanese.

Javanese Art and Culture

An understanding of Javanese art, history, and society is essen
tial to fully appreciate Javanese batik. Researchers can consult
sources with publication dates ranging from the early 19th cen

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108 Art Documentation, Fall 1993

numerous black-and-white plates that illustrate monuments, fig
urines, religious objects, and other items.
The Religion of Java, in which Clifford Geertz delineates three
main cultural types that shape Javanese behavior, has become a
classic in anthropological circles since its publication in 1960.
While his theories have been criticized by some, this work re
mains essential for those with interests in the anthropology or
religion of Java and assists the batik researcher by defining the
role of batik in the Javanese art complex. A concise introduction
to Java can be found in some recent travel guides such as Java:
Garden of the East, by Eric Oey This guide contains short essays
on diverse topics such as history, kraton ceremonies, antiquities,
and the arts, including batik. While geared to the traveler, it also
will be of interest to the general reader who wants an easily
accessible introduction to Java.

Trade, History, and Early Scholarship

Scholars have proposed a variety of theories regarding the
origin of batik in Java.5 This matter will probably never be re
solved due to the lack of written documentation and extant tex
tiles. The Indonesian archipelago, located on major ocean travel
routes, has experienced centuries of trade, exploration, and colo
nization. This extensive contact with other cultures has brought
a succession of religions to the region, including Hinduism, Bud
dhism, Islam, and Christianity. Some monuments created by ear
lier cultures can still be seen in Java and include such important
sites as the Buddhist Borobudur, built in Central Java in approx
imately A.D. 800.
Mattiebelle Gittinger's Master Dyers to the World: Technique and
Trade in Early Indian Dyed Cotton Textiles describes the early trade

in Indian textiles, which took place in the Indonesian archi

pelago. In the 16th and 17th centuries Europeans entered the

already active trade between China and India; residents of the
archipelago had already been participants in this commerce for
many years. After the 1602 establishment of the Dutch East

India Company the Dutch became the most important com

Figure 1. Woman near Tuban weaving fabric to be used for batik.

tury to the early 1990s for different perspectives on Java and

Indonesia. The Festival of Indonesia, a national celebration of
Indonesian arts, culture, and society, held in the United States in
1990-91, focused overdue attention on this little-understood na
tion. A major exhibition organized by the Asia Society Galleries
produced a noteworthy catalogue, Court Arts of Indonesia, by
Helen Ibbitson Jessup. While little specific coverage of batik is
included (the author recommends more specialized sources), this
scholarly and beautifully illustrated publication is highly recom
mended for beginning and advanced scholars who want to learn

about Indonesian court culture. The inclusion of many large

high-quality color images also makes it a visual feast for the

general reader. This text stands as the only published source that
exclusively examines Javanese court arts.4 Thomas Stamford Raf
fle's classic History of Java, first published in 1817, is an extremely
important work which will be discussed later in this essay.
Claire Holt's Art in Indonesia: Continuities and Change is an out

mercial power in the archipelago. Indian textiles, including the

expensive double-ikat patola and cheaper block or resist-dyed
textiles, were the dominant exchange currency for Malay spices
and other goods. In the 17th century the Dutch secured a mo
nopoly on the highly esteemed patola cloth. The great demand
in the archipelago for Indian trade textiles for ceremonial and
other uses may have contributed to the Europeans' ability to gain
a foothold in Southeast Asia.6 Their commerce ultimately in
volved them in local politics, which led to the long Dutch colonial

period. The Dutch maintained an interest in textiles and at

tempted to invigorate the domestic batik industry in various

ways. Additionally, Dutch-Indonesian entrepreneurs ran success
ful batik studios which introduced new designs and uses for
batik, especially on the North Coast. The Dutch colonial regime
was interrupted briefly by the British in the early 19th century

and collapsed with the Japanese invasion in 1942; the Dutch

recognized Indonesian independence in 1950.
Batik scholarship has been greatly affected by the strategic
location and colonial past of the archipelago. Sir Thomas Stam

ford Raffles, well-known British Imperial administrator and early

neolithic to modern times. It includes a discussion of batik and

scholar on Southeast Asia, was the lieutenant governor of Java

during the brief British colonial period from 1811?1816. His
History of Java, published in 1817 and reissued in 1965 by Oxford
University Press, documents batik as well as a remarkable num
ber of other topics and has become a classic work in historiogra
phy. He is believed to have been the first Westerner to observe
and record the art of Javanese batik.7 Beautiful handcolored
aquatints, attributed to William Danieli,8 depict Javanese dress.
Raffles collected a diverse array of Javanese materials, such as

informative chapters on the history of Java, a useful chronologi

cal table, black-and-white sketches, and tipped-in colorplates. An
cient Indonesian Art, by A. J. Bernet Kempers, covers prehistoric
Hindu-Indonesian and early Islamic art in Indonesia. It contains

Patterns of the Early Nineteenth Century" examines batik pat

terns represented on puppets and carved models in Raffles's
collection in the British Museum.

standing publication which examines contemporary and tradi

tional art. It is one of several noteworthy studies from the 1950s

and 1960s, an era marked by tremendous social and political

upheaval in Indonesia and a growing international interest in

Indonesia. Minimal reference to batik is made, but the coverage
of modern art and performing arts, for which batik is often
worn, is particularly interesting. Frits A. Wagner's Indonesia: The
Art of an Island Group covers the diversity of Indonesian art from

puppets and carved models depicting costume. Forge's "Batik

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Art Documentation, Fall 1993 109

Early Dutch scholars and their Indonesian associates were per
haps even more instrumental in introducing Westerners to the
beauty and complexity of Indonesian artistic traditions.9 Re
searchers will want to see the early encyclopedic studies De Batik
kunst in Nederlandsch Indie en Haar Geschiedene (by G. R Rouffaer
and H. H. Juynboll) and De Inlandsche Kunstnijverheid in Neder
fandsch Indie (by J. E. Jasper and Mas Pirngadie). The former,
published in 1899 in German and Dutch, includes 100 plates of
batik reproductions, photographs of Javanese costume, and ar
tisans at work. The latter, in Dutch, is a five-volume set covering
Javanese plaiting, textiles, metalwork, and other traditional arts.
Volume 3, De Batikkunst, dated 1916, documents batik dyeing
techniques and the symbolic significance and function of batik
ornamentation. Some of the textile techniques and traditions
recorded by early scholars are no longer practiced or have begun
to fall into disuse. These publications are therefore of immense
cultural and historical importance. The illustrations alone make
them worthwhile for those who do not read Dutch or German.

Steinmann's "Batiks," written in 1947, conveys an informative

historical background, including an interesting account of the
rise of the European batik industry spurred by the popularity of
Javanese batik. To locate other historical articles on batik, readers
can consult Rug and Textile Arts: A Periodical Index, 1890?1982, by
the Arthur D. Jenkins Library, which contains selective indexing

of articles about textiles and rugs found in over 300 periodicals

in the library of the Textile Museum in Washington, DC.

Indonesian and Southeast Asian Textiles

A number of monographs and exhibition catalogues discuss
Javanese batik within the context of other textile arts. Splendid
Symboh: Textiles and Traditions in Indonesia, by Gittinger, is one of

the best sources on Indonesian textiles, written by a prominent

scholar in this field. Textiles from different geographical areas
are discussed in this catalogue, and their role in the social cus
toms and religion of Indonesia is explored. The 1985 imprint
contains an updated bibliography, new illustrations, and a pref
ace that summarizes important recent scholarship since the book's
original publication in 1979.

Robyn J. Maxwell's Textiles of Southeast Asia: Tradition, Trade and

pealing survey. Its attractive layout and large illustrations make it

appropriate for the general reader. The color details of textiles

are particularly well reproduced, and small black-and-white pho
tographs of the textiles being worn give the cloths cultural con
text. It is of interest for its inclusion of batiks that are not often

depicted elsewhere, such as tablecloths and paintings and a batik

design sampler. The World of Indonesian Textiles, by Wanda Warm
ing and Michael Gaworski (1981) is another introductory source;
it offers an illustrated survey of the major textile traditions in

contemporary Indonesia, traces their history and influences, ex

plains motifs, and describes techniques and materials used. Deco
rative Art in Indonesian Textiles, by Laurens Langewis and Frits A.

Wagner (1964) provides a good overview of Indonesian textiles,

including illustrations of less-frequently displayed textiles, such
as paste and bamboo stick batik. All illustrated textiles are de
scribed and classified with the help of a classification chart. Mary
Hunt Kahlenberg's Textile Traditions of Indonesia (1977), another
illustrated survey of Indonesian textiles, documents an exhibition
held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and includes a
chapter on Java. Threads of Tradition: Textiles of Indonesia and Sara

wak, edited by Joseph Fischer in 1979, contains chapters of gen

eral and specific interest to the Javanese batik researcher; of
particular note is Beverly Labin's "Batik Traditions in the Life of
the Javanese."

Javanese Batik
Two Javanese regions are particularly well known for their
batik production: the Central Javanese court cities of Yogyakarta
and Surakarta (also known as Yogya and Solo), and the North

Coast region including such cities as Pekalongan, Lasem, and

Cirebon. Fine tulis batik has long been associated with the kra
tons of Central Java. Yogyakarta and Surakarta were important

during the Indianized period of Indonesia's history (approxi

mately A.D. 600-1500) and continue to constitute the cultural

center of Java. Despite conversion to Islam several centuries ago,
the kratons remain centers of the ancient Hindu-Javanese cul
ture. Batik is one of the fine, or halus, classical arts associated
with this culture, along with the wayang kulit (shadow puppet
play), gamefan music, and other art forms. Geertz's Religion of
Java is suggested for an explanation of the halus arts. Although

Transformation, published in 1990 in conjunction with a major

exhibition of the Australian National Gallery's Southeast Asian
royal patronage of batik has declined since Indonesia's post
textile collection, is highly recommended to researchers for its WWII independence, the use and production of batik in and
scholarly examination of the relationship of Indonesian textiles,
near the courts continues today.
including batik, to other Southeast Asian textile traditions. Max
Batiks from the Central Java principalities, often referred to as
well notes that this wider approach is useful as it allows for classical, are tricolor, limited to indigo blue, soga (a brown ob
comparisons and connections that have not typically been made
tained from the soga tree), and white (or cream) (figure 2).
in studies constrained by national boundaries and other restric
Readers intrigued by traditional Central Javanese batik processes
tions.10 At least one scholar has noted, however, that the many will enjoy the Batik Manual, prepared by the Balai Penelitian
strengths of this tour-de-force are somewhat mitigated by an Batik dan Kerajinan (Batik Research Institute) in 1980. This
unwieldy format. Maxwell's orientation toward history and diffu
volume, with text in both English and Indonesian, contains pho
sion as principles of cultural organization has resulted in an
tographs and actual fabric samples illustrating the sequence of
insightful but frustrating volume, since the reader is forced to
steps involved in the waxing and dyeing of batik. The Javanese
rely heavily on the index to locate the many "nuggets" of infor
term for each step is included. Pieter Mijer's Batih and How to
mation on a particular cultural group scattered throughout the Make Them (1919) provides an account of batik production in
text.11 This source features many colorplates, although they are
Java from an early 20th century perspective. It outlines tradi
not always large enough to allow definition.
tional methods and gives Javanese terms for the various pro
cesses and materials involved. Tassilo Adam's "The Art of Batik
To Speak xvith Cloth: Studies in Indonesian Textiles, edited by Git
tinger in 1989, is an exemplary collection of scholarly articles
in Java" (1934) also concentrates on the batik technique.
that "assess textiles and their role in discrete micro-environments
Until recent decades, the Central Javanese batik tradition has
of Indonesia."12 The studies presented here are' based on ex
tended to be fairly resistant to significant stylistic shifts. Tradi
tensive field research and go beyond the vague generalizations
tional Central Javanese batik motifs stem mainly from Javanese
found in survey publications. Indonesian Textiles: Irene Emery Round
animistic religion, although elements from Islam, Hinduism, or
table on Museum Textiles, 1979 Proceedings, edited by Gittinger in
Buddhism, are used if they are cocok (harmonize) with the ani
1980, contains a number of scholarly papers devoted to batik.
mistic elements.13 The introspective nature of the courts, and the
Some of these are also mentioned individually in this article.
desire to maintain symbols of status via traditional and restricted
Indonesian Textiles: Symposium 1985, edited by Gisela Volger and motifs, dissuaded court artisans from exploring radically differ
Karin v. Welck in 1991, is another noteworthy collection of es
ent colors and patterns. It is important to note, however, that the
says, several of which relate directly to batik.
development of new patterns and combinations of motifs in the
Michael Hitchcock's Indonesian Textiles (1991) is a visually ap
classical colors has been an ongoing process.

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110 Art Documentation, Fall 1993

PaaiaAdrcmnk18)wtnetinbt nls n

InoeinOoueLo h itr n ulueo ieo n

inldsaRnomtv eto fbtk

Figure 2. Parang batik pattern in indigo blue, soga brown, and white.

Clasifictionand ymboism f Deign

The more restrained batik patterns found in the Central Java

nese principalities are in marked contrast to the cloths made on :~.

the North Coast, where batik has been more of a commercial *

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There are kratons in Cirebon, a city on the north

western Java They, like the Central Javanese courts, a

ated with distinctive batik patterns, although the royalty

bon never imposed strict regulations on their use. Man

this region show a clear relationship to Chinese, Islam

other sources. The pattern megamendung for ex

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Art Documentation, Fall 1993

111

lates batik symbolism to the sociopolitical order of the courts and

comments on the impact of the international art market and the
mass production of batik on the values attached to batik cloths.

The cultural connotations of Javanese batiks are discussed in

Labin's "Batik Traditions in the Life of the Javanese." She ex
plains how every halus batik represents some aspect in the Java
nese cosmology and comments on the role that batik plays in
Javanese rites, rituals, and social reciprocity. Even the making of
fine batik is associated with the supernatural realm. Batik waxing
was traditionally a form of meditation; women made batik for
family ceremonial purposes, but also to achieve an elevated state
of mind.18

The industrialization of batik production in the late 19th cen

tury, with the widespread adoption of the cap, a copper wax
printing device which enabled batik to compete with cheap Eu
ropean imported textiles, brought men into the traditionally fe
male art of batik.19 The cap is still used almost exclusively by
men. Using caps, one worker can wax about 20 cloths in one day.
Today both men and women make batik, typically using the cap
and the canting respectively; some batik cloths are waxed with
both. The Encyclopedia of Batik Designs, written by Leo O. Don
ahue in 1981, can be consulted for a compilation of cap designs
reproduced from master caps, as well as an account of the histor
ical development of the cap.

Twentieth-Century Developments
Nationalism and a pride in Indonesian traditions following the
declaration of Indonesian independence in 1949 has also influ
enced batik. Under Sukarno, the first president of the new re
public, the government assisted the batik industry through the
establishment of cooperatives. Sukarno promoted batik as na
tional dress and, aided by batik designer Hardjonagoro, encour
aged the development of Batik Indonesia, a style incorporating
North Coast colors and Central Javanese patterns. While this
helped forge the identification of batik with the new republic, it
also resulted in a reduction in regional styles.20 Both Sukarno
and Suharto, the president of Indonesia since 1968, popularized
batik as formal dress for men, promoting open-collar batik shirts

Figure 4. Megamendung pattern from Cirebon.

give the reader an idea of the coloring and compositions of the

described patterns.
In Central Java certain proscribed patterns, known as larangan,
were formerly reserved for the rulers, their families, and courts.
In the past, a commoner who dared to defy adat (customary law)
by wearing one of these patterns could expect to be punished.
For example, certain patterns bearing the sawat, a motif based

on garuda (the mount of Vishnu in Hindu mythology), are

among the Central Javanese larangan patterns. Alit Veldhuisen

Djajasoebrata's "On the Origin and Nature of Larangan" (1980)
illuminates the history of batik patterns that were previously
restricted to use by the royalty. Robert Wessing's "Wearing the

Cosmos: Symbolism in Batik Design" (1986) also focuses on

these restricted motifs.

Other authors have tackled the complicated problems of sym

bolism and meaning. Monni Adams, in "Symbolic Scenes in Java
nese Batik" (1970), analyzes the symbolism of compositions or
groupings of motifs rather than focusing on individual motifs as
has usually been done. In doing so, she calls attention to possible
links between batik design and major Indonesian art traditions.
Garrett and Bronwen S?lyom discuss symbolism in two types of
Central Javanese patterns in "Cosmic Symbolism in Semen and
Alasalasan Patterns in Javanese Textiles." In "Wearing the Cos
mos," Wessing examines the significance of batik motifs in the
context of Javanese cosmology and analyzes patterns that he
believes reflect the court as the center of the cosmos. Justine
Boow discusses batik traditions in the courts of Surakarta and
Yogyakarta in Symbol and Status in Javanese Batik She examines
the knowledge and interpretation of batik symbolism, largely the
domain of the Central Javanese kraton aristocracy, and she re

over Western-style jackets and ties. Even political and social con
cerns have been represented in Javanese batik. A designer whose
batiks focused during the 1960s on the importance of the peas
ant farmer in Javanese society is discussed by Robyn J. and
John R. Maxwell in "Political Motives: The Batiks of Mohamad
Hadi of Solo." The authors observe that batiks have long illus
trated Javanese politics, as changing designs have frequently mir
rored shifts in political power or influence.21

Certain publications provide overviews of current batik artists

and studios while contrasting them with their historical antece
dents. Indonesian Batik: Processes, Patterns and Places, written by
Sylvia Fraser-Lu, is a small volume which covers the history,
processes, designs, and "places" of batik in a compact, easy-to
read format. Its most unique feature is a section that guides the
reader, or visitor, through contemporary batik studios in Java. Its
potential use as a travel guide would be greatly enhanced by the
inclusion of a map (or maps). Elliott's Batik: Fabled Cloth of Java
depicts the works of prominent North Coast batik artists, both
past and present, along with historical photographs. A talk with
Indonesian batik designer and scholar Hardjonagoro, "Conver
sations with a Batik Master," written by Gittinger, provides an
interesting account of a contemporary designer who has adapted
traditional motifs and methods to fit a modern aesthetic. Several

batiks of Hardjonagoro's design are discussed.

In recent decades, artists and designers throughout Java have
explored new avenues of expression using batik. Batik is now
produced by the yard, making it suitable for interior decorating
and dressmaking. Elliott's Batik: Fabled Cloth of Java illustrates
some of these developments, including various collaborations be
tween Westerners and Javanese entrepreneurs. Batik paintings
reflecting an awareness of Western art and a pride in Indonesian

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112 Art Documentation, Fall 1993

traditions have been popular since the 1960s. Modern Indonesian
Art: Three Generations of Tradition and Change, 1945?1990, edited
by Joseph Fischer, is another outstanding catalogue stemming

from a Festival of Indonesia exhibition. Contemporary batik

painters, such as Amri Yahya and Tulus Warsito, are featured

within the context of other modern artists. This publication is
extremely important for presenting modern Indonesian art to a
Western audience which has, up to now, only been familiar with
Indonesian folk traditions, while simultaneously including an In
donesian language translation for the use of Indonesian schol
ars. It is also to be commended for addressing the relationship

between modern art, such as batik painting, and Indonesian

traditional art. The works of art are reproduced in large color

illustrations. Hitchcock's Indonesian Textiles also includes photo
graphs of batik paintings as well as popular textiles, such as batik
tablecloths.
Not to be confused with cap batiks are machine-printed imita
tion batik cloths that simulate wax-resist batik designs. The compe
tition of true batik with this quasi-batik, fueled by the availability

tion. In Gittinger's words, "A satisfactory resolution of this di

lemma posed by modernization is not at all apparent, nor is the
problem of how, or with what, handcrafted textiles, once basic to
social reciprocity, will be replaced. In this very problem one can
envision the outlines of research to come."25

NOTES
1. Complete bibliographic citations for sources listed in the text may be found in
the selected bibliography.
2. Judi Achjadi, "Batiks in the Central Javanese Wedding Ceremony," in To Speak
with Cloth: Studies in Indonesian Textiles, ed. Mattiebelle Gittinger (Los Angeles: Mu
seum of Cultural History, University of California, 1989), 151.
3. Michael Hitchcock, Indonesian Textiles (New York: HarperCollins, Icon Editions,

1991), 148.

4. Helen Ibbitson Jessup, Court Arts of Indonesia (New York: Asia Society Galleries in
association with Harry N. Abrams, 1990), 3.
5. See, for example, Alfred Steinmann, "Batiks," Ciba Review 58 (July 1947): 2090;

N. Tirtaamidjaja, Jazir Marzuki, and B. R. O'G. Anderson, Batik: Pola dan Tjorak

of Indonesian-made printed cloth, has put many cap factories

out of business in recent years. Many tourists unknowingly pur
chase this cloth believing they are buying true batik, while Ja

Pattem and Motif (Jakarta: Djambatan, 1966), 17-18; Mattiebelle Gittinger, "Conver
sations with a Batik Master," Textile Museum Journal 18 (1979): 27; and Mattiebelle
Gittinger, Splendid Symboh: Textiles and Traditions in Indonesia (Singapore: Oxford
University Press, 1985), 115-16.
6. Mattiebelle Gittinger, "Textiles as Evidence for Cultural Continuum in Southeast

therefore uncertain.

Asia" (lecture given at the Asian Art Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco,
California, May 6, 1989).
7. M. J. de Raadt-Apell, "Van Zuylen Batik, Pekalongan, Central Java (1890-1946),"

vanese consumers often intentionally buy the less-expensive

printed cloth instead of cap. The fate of the cap industry is

Textil* Museum Journal 19-20 (1982): 81.

8. Anthony Forge, "Batik Patterns of the Early Nineteenth Century," in To Speak

Batik Today and Tomorrow

Batik continues to be important to the Javanese who still value
the old ways, especially in certain contexts such as the traditional
wedding ceremony, but to a large extent batik no longer speaks
of its former social and spiritual roots. A decline in royal pa
tronage, changes in production and markets, modernization, and
new uses for batik, have all had an impact. Women batik artisans
are now often seen working for male batik painters, executing

fine details in wax between dye baths. Increased exposure to

Western culture has prompted many women to give up batik
clothing in favor of Western dress. At the same time, as Indo
nesia modernizes, many women are leaving batik making to as
sume new roles in society. Simultaneously the wealthier Javanese
compete with collectors for the finer tulis pieces. International
tourists and collectors, scholars, and Indonesian business people
and administrators, have emerged as patrons of fine tulis batik.22
Fine batik is now often bought to be admired, not worn, and has
become very expensive; batiks now serve as symbols of travel,

worldliness, and good taste, rather than traditional social ob

jects.23 A 1987 Far Eastern Economic Review article by Dede Oe

tomo, describing the popularity among international collectors

of handwoven batik from a village near Tuban underscores this
observation. For better or worse, Javanese batik has captured the
interest and imagination of the collector and scholar alike. Batik
will probably continue to be made as long as there are buyers
who are willing and able to pay, but its place in traditional Java
nese life is jeopardized.
At the same time, the corpus of batik scholarship has grown
and matured significantly in recent years, with the publication of
a number of important monographs, catalogues, and scholarly
articles. The patient perusal of indexes such as Excerpta Indo
nesica, the Bibliography of Asian Studies, Art Index, and ARTbibliogra

phies Modern yields articles addressing a surprising array of topics

related to batik and other Indonesian textiles. Gittinger rightly

states that "textiles deserve to be considered as valuable primary
source material, subject to as much scrutiny as kinship structures
for the anthropologist and ancient chronicles for the historian."24
Researchers are discovering just how important textiles are in the
social and religious lives of the Javanese and in Southeast Asia in
general. Batik is likely to be associated with Indonesian culture
for years to come, but under the pressures of the modern world
its place in Javanese society will undoubtedly continue to change.
Ironically, even this fact may lead to future scholarly investiga

with Cloth, 92.

9. For biographical sketches of these scholars and accounts of their contributions to

Dutch Museums, see Rita Bolland, "Dutch Museums and Indonesian Textile Collec
tions," in Indonesian Textiles: Sympodum 1985, ed. Gisela Volger and Karin v. Welck

(Cologne: Etimologica, 1991), 218-21.

10. Robyn J. Maxwell, Textiles of Southeast Asia: Tradition, Trade and Transformation
(Melbourne: Australian National Gallery; New York: Oxford University Press, 1990),

12-13.

H.H. Leedom Lefferts, Jr., "Southeast Asian Textiles: New Research and Writing,"
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 23 (September 1992): 408-9.
12. Gittinger, To Speak with Cloth, 7.

13. Beverly Labin, "Batik Traditions in the Life of the Javanese," in Threads of
Tradition: Textiles of Indonesia and Sarawak, ed. Joseph Fischer (Oakland: Published
for the University of California by Fidelity Savings and Loan Assoc., 1979), 49.
14. Indische has no English equivalent but refers to people of European or Eurasian
parentage who were born and/or lived for a long time in Indonesia.
15. Inger McCabe Elliott, Batik: Fabled Cloth of Java (New York: Clarkson N. Potter,

1984), 179.

16. See, for example, Tassilo Adam, "The Art of Batik in Java," Bulletin of the Needle

and Bobbin Club 18, no. 1 and 2 (1934): 2-79; Steinmann, "Batiks," 2110-2120;
Laurens Langewis and Frits A. Wagner, Decorative Art in Indonesian Textiles (Amster

dam: Van Der Peet, 1964); Wanda Warming and Michael Gaworski, The World of
Indonesian Textiles (Tokyo and New York: Kodansha, 1981), 168-77; and Gittinger,
Splendid Symbols, 122-26.
17. D. A. Swallow, "Javanese Batiks: Meaning, Interpretation and Change," Indonesia

Circled (March 1987): 35.

18. K. R. T. Hardjonagoro, "The Place of Batik in the History and Philosophy of

Javanese Textiles," in Indonesian Textiles: Irene Emery Roundtable on Museum Textiles,

1979 Proceedings, ed. Mattiebelle Gittinger (Washington, D.C.: Textile Museum,

1980), 229.
19. An exception to this rule is found in some North Coast communities, such as
Trusmi, near Cirebon, where batik was apparently the domain of men until the
20th century. See Paramita Abdurachman, Cerbon (Jakarta: Yayasan Mitra Budaya
Indonesia and Sinar Harapan, 1982), 137.
20. Robyn J. Maxwell, Southeast Asian Textiles: The State of the Art, Working Paper

No. 42, Australian National Gallery, Department of Asian Art and Textiles (Can
berra, 1987), 10.
21. Robyn J. Maxwell and John R. Maxwell, "Political Motives: The Batiks of Mo
hamad Hadi of Solo," in To Speak with Cloth, 131.
22. Hitchcock, Indonesian Textiles, 183.

23. Justine Boow, Symbol and Status in Javanese Batik (Nedlands: Asian Studies Cen
tre, University of Western Australia, 1988), 147.
24. Gittinger, Splendid Symbols, 8.
25. Gittinger, Splendid Symbols, n.p.

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Cloth: Studies in Indonesian Textiles, ed. by Mattiebelle Gittinger, 151-61. Los An
geles: Museum of Cultural History, University of California, 1989.

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Art Documentation, Fall 1993 113

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Adams, Monni. "Symbolic Scenes in Javanese Batik." Textile Museum Journal 3 (De

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Acknowledgements: The author wishes to thank Janine Henri and

Nancy Pistorius for their critical review of the manuscript.

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