Trousers
early 20th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Batiks (the name given in Indonesia to the process of applying resist-dyed patterns to cloth) are worn in Java by both men and women. They are used by Javanese men in the traditional forms of headcloths (kain kepala) and skirtcloths (kain panjang). Today batik shirts are also very popular.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both the Dutch and the Chinese in Java also wore clothes made from batik patterned cloth. Men relaxed at home in the early morning or evening wearing trousers such as these, which were secured around the waist by a string or belt. These trousers were usually made by cutting cloth from batik patterned waist cloths, but were sometimes made up and then decorated with batik designs. The design of this pair, with its large motifs of a bamboo like plant with lurking peacocks in blues, greens and browns, suggests that they were made at one of the towns on Java's north coast.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both the Dutch and the Chinese in Java also wore clothes made from batik patterned cloth. Men relaxed at home in the early morning or evening wearing trousers such as these, which were secured around the waist by a string or belt. These trousers were usually made by cutting cloth from batik patterned waist cloths, but were sometimes made up and then decorated with batik designs. The design of this pair, with its large motifs of a bamboo like plant with lurking peacocks in blues, greens and browns, suggests that they were made at one of the towns on Java's north coast.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Cotton batik, machine sewn |
| Brief description | Pair of cotton batik trousers, Java, early 20th century |
| Physical description | Pair of cotton trousers with machine stitching, and with a batik design on a white background. The design consists of two branches of a bamboo-like plant with a variety of flowers branching out from them, and a peacock lurking at each of their bases, all in fawn, brown, green and blue colours. Above and around them flutter butterflies. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Unique |
| Production | Made in one of the centres on the north coast of Java |
| Summary | Batiks (the name given in Indonesia to the process of applying resist-dyed patterns to cloth) are worn in Java by both men and women. They are used by Javanese men in the traditional forms of headcloths (kain kepala) and skirtcloths (kain panjang). Today batik shirts are also very popular. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both the Dutch and the Chinese in Java also wore clothes made from batik patterned cloth. Men relaxed at home in the early morning or evening wearing trousers such as these, which were secured around the waist by a string or belt. These trousers were usually made by cutting cloth from batik patterned waist cloths, but were sometimes made up and then decorated with batik designs. The design of this pair, with its large motifs of a bamboo like plant with lurking peacocks in blues, greens and browns, suggests that they were made at one of the towns on Java's north coast. |
| Bibliographic reference | The V&A Album, 5, London: 1986 Number: ISBN 1851770771
Swallow, Deborah, A Singular Substitute, pps. 156-164 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.70-1985 |
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| Record created | March 12, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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