The hardest class I ever took was History of Textiles, which was a required class for fibers majors at SCAD. It was more rigorous and time consuming than any lecture class I was used to taking. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed it and and I learned a lot. The final project for the class was to find a vintage textile to research and do a paper on. My professor pointed us to a boutique in downtown Savannah where I was able to find the perfect piece: a Batik Textile from Java, Indonesia.
After taking the class, I used the textile as a tapestry in my dorm (as I felt it was too pretty to just sit in a box). After being home for a few months in my old childhood bedroom with it's gross bumble-gum-pink and lime green walls (I know - middle school Megan had really bad taste), I decided it would be nice to hang it up here too. Even though it looks really out of place on these walls, it is so nice to see everyday (plus, it makes the perfect Zoom background).
Also, I recently filled a page in my new grid sketchbook with border designs inspired by it (see Instagram post on the left).
With all this extra love this beautiful textile has been getting, I thought it'd be nice to share it here! Below I've added pictures of this beautiful piece and a few sections of my essay.
This textile is from Java, one of the islands that make up Indonesia, and was created uses a resist dyeing technique called batik. After analyzing the textile, I believe it was done using a method called cantering, which would make the elegant, stylized natural forms in the pattern, done by hand. The colors used are indigo and soga brown on a white cotton fabric. The fabric would have originally been worn as a sarong, a length of fabric that is wrapped around the body as a dress or skirt.
Batik is the best known Indonesian resist dyeing technique, primarily done on cotton cloth. It is created when an artist applied designs in wax onto the fabric, then soaked in a cold dye bath so the wax doesn’t melt, going through the necessary dye processes for each individual color. After the dyeing is finished, the wax layers are boiled off, revealing the areas of white. The process is then repeated to produce a design of multiple colors. There are two methods of batik. The oldest method is called canting batik, in which a waxing pen called a canting is used to draw the wax on. The second method uses a copper stamp to stamp the wax onto the fabric. This method is called cap batik.
Canting
A waxing pen called a canting is used to draw the wax onto the fabric in this method. This requires a great deal of self control and a concentration on every stroke. The delicacy of canting led to fine drawing and an elaboration of known motifs, specifically in background space. The canting is a tool of painstaking attention to detail.
Motifs
(This section of my essay involves a number of footnote citations. As I cannot add footnotes here I will be putting the numbers in parentheses and adding the citations at the end)
Up to the nineteenth century presented a “somber but rich display of ornate, complex, and repetitious compositions which were regionally diversified and implicated in social institutions, values and rituals.” (1) For the Javanese, repetition wasn’t merely just that, but also recreation, an infinite process of renewal. Repetition was also tied to the idea of power and of spiritual influence. They maintained an inventory of patterns and motifs and reproduced them in a number of variations. The thousands of motifs from this inventory can be put into six general categories which include Ceplok, Kawung, Parang, Lereng, Nitik, and Semen motifs. Ceplok motifs include a range of geometric designs. They are based on circular rosettes, star, among smaller shapes, forming a symmetrical pattern on the cloth. Kawung motifs were reserved for the royal family. It represents a cross section of the aren-palm fruit, with a basic structure of four circles or ovals that almost touch each other. Parang motifs are one of the most powerful batik motifs. They are called “lidah api” or tongue of fire. Lereng are simply diagonal rows of patterns that is filled by smaller patterns. Nikit motifs are geometric designs made of small dots and dashes, which are inspired by woven patola cloths brought to Indonesia by traders from Gujarat. Lastly, Semen motifs are non geometric patterns inspired by the natural world. These can include stylized stems, flowers, leaves, mountains, and animals. Semen held importance for royalty on special occasions. (2) A common semen motif is Garuda, a bird-man in Hindu mythology, who carried Vishnu, a god responsible for preserving and protecting the universe, through the heavens. (3) He is portrayed as a single, pair of wings. (2) Semen motifs are used in this textile and Garuda is featured among the organic, stylized leaves and palms.
1. Kitley, Philip. "Ornamentation and Originality: Involution in Javanese Batik" Southeast Asia
Program Publications at Cornell University(1992): 1-19.
2. "Batik Winotosastro." What Is Batik: Batik Winotosastro: History of Batik. 2010. Accessed November 11, 2018. http://www.winotosastro.com/batik/batikyogya.html.
3. "Religions - Hinduism: Vishnu." BBC. August 24, 2009. Accessed November 11, 2018. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/deities/vishnu.shtml.
And that's my first and only (so far) vintage textile in my collection!
Thanks for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it!
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