Not currently on display at the V&A

Skirt Cloth

ca. 1920 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

There are three principal areas of batik production in Java--the Sultanates of Surakarta and Yogyakarta in central Java; a number of cities on the northern coast of the island; and in and around Garut in western Java. The styles of the different regions were distinct, and in central Java cloths were produced with characteristic palettes of soga browns, indigo blue and cream or white and black. The north coast by contrast produced cloths which reflected the more diverse cultural influences in the area. These cloths had colour combinations of red, blue and white, and tended to have more naturalistic compositions, including floral, animal and maritime themes.

Between the end of the 19th century and the Second World War, certain types of highly valued batik cloths drew on the skills and styles of more than one production centre. Known as tiga negeri (three towns) or dua negeri (two towns) they typically reflected the distinct designs and colour palettes. The main body of this tiga negeri design features large flying peacocks (in red, blue and white) between flowering plants, floating on a background that is in the typical colour scheme of Surakarta. It also features squares formed by a lattice bamboo design on the husked grain of rice or gabah sinawur background on which sit leaf, flower and house motifs. The kepala (or head) has a diagonal design in alternate panels of brown, red, blue, red, brown, red ground, withgabah sinawur background on brown sections and floral designs.

The body of the cloth is likely to have been made in Surakarta; the superimposed floral motifs and the kepala in part are likely to have been worked in two different centres on the north coast.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Cotton batik
Brief description
Skirt cloth (Kain panjang) of cotton batik, Java, ca. 1920
Physical description
Skirt cloth (Kain panjang) with a batik design on machine-made tabby weave cotton cloth. Of a type known as tiga negeri (three towns or places) and shows three different distinct designs, and two different colour palettes. The main body of the cloth (badan) has a design of large flying peacocks in red, blue and white between flowering plants in the same colour scheme, floating on a background that is classically central Javanese and in the typical colour of Surakarta (light soga brown, blue and white) with squares formed by lattice bamboo design on the 'husked grain of rice' or gabah sinawur background on which sit leaf, flower and house motifs. The kepala (head) has a diagonal design in alternate panels of brown, red, blue, red, brown, red, etc. ground, with gabah sinawur background on brown sections and floral designs.
Production
Collected and probably in part made in Surakarta, Central Java. The body of the cloth is likely to have been made in Surakarta; the superimposed floral motifs and the kepala in part are likely to have been worked on the north coast.
Summary
There are three principal areas of batik production in Java--the Sultanates of Surakarta and Yogyakarta in central Java; a number of cities on the northern coast of the island; and in and around Garut in western Java. The styles of the different regions were distinct, and in central Java cloths were produced with characteristic palettes of soga browns, indigo blue and cream or white and black. The north coast by contrast produced cloths which reflected the more diverse cultural influences in the area. These cloths had colour combinations of red, blue and white, and tended to have more naturalistic compositions, including floral, animal and maritime themes.

Between the end of the 19th century and the Second World War, certain types of highly valued batik cloths drew on the skills and styles of more than one production centre. Known as tiga negeri (three towns) or dua negeri (two towns) they typically reflected the distinct designs and colour palettes. The main body of this tiga negeri design features large flying peacocks (in red, blue and white) between flowering plants, floating on a background that is in the typical colour scheme of Surakarta. It also features squares formed by a lattice bamboo design on the husked grain of rice or gabah sinawur background on which sit leaf, flower and house motifs. The kepala (or head) has a diagonal design in alternate panels of brown, red, blue, red, brown, red ground, withgabah sinawur background on brown sections and floral designs.

The body of the cloth is likely to have been made in Surakarta; the superimposed floral motifs and the kepala in part are likely to have been worked in two different centres on the north coast.
Collection
Accession number
IS.145-1984

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Record createdMarch 12, 2004
Record URL
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