£ 80.00
195 x 50 cm // 6ft 6" x 1ft 8"
This is a woman's shoulder cloth, selendang, hand-waxed, from Jambi. The design is called Batanghari (the name of the river).
At that time batik had not yet really revived - this piece came from the one family who picked up batik-making again after WWII and the years of austerity which followed. The lady who ran the workshop was called Azmiah, and she lived in Olak Kemang village on the north side of the river. Only a few people were making batik in 1990 but it took off soon after, with Indonesian government training and the introduction of copper stamps for applying the wax. Napthol dyes were widely used (this piece is probably dyed with napthol dyes, though it may have natural under-dye, which they continued to use as they felt it made the colours more fast.
• date 1990
Provenance: Dr. Fiona Kerlogue (who collected this and provided the above information)
Condition - as new
Ref. 16237
