Batik

バティック（ジャワ更紗） / traditional–present / Technique / Textile Traditions

Javanese cloth resisted with wax and dyed over and over again. The line drawn by the canting builds a pattern system that also speaks of rank, region and rite.

Batik — Artisan applying wax with a canting (CC BY-SA 4.0) · © Ahaetulla — Artisan applying wax with a canting (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © Ahaetulla

Batik — Batik making in Central Java (CC BY-SA 3.0) · © Unknown author Unknown author — Batik making in Central Java (CC BY-SA 3.0) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · © Unknown author Unknown author

Batik — ジャワ北岸のバティック・サロン 19世紀半ばクリーブランド美術館 — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 — ジャワ北岸のバティック・サロン 19世紀半ばクリーブランド美術館 — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · CC0

At a glance

Visual cues

Crackle of the wax resist
The canting's line
Layered indigo and soga brown
A semantic pattern system

Best used for

Cloth and wallpaper needing a density only a drawn line produces
Formal and ceremonial textiles that respect what each pattern signifies

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Dictionary entry

Type: Any lettering follows the pattern grid and never breaks the repeat
Composition: Divide the whole cloth into pattern units, change rank at the border
Material: Wax resist, then layered indigo and brown, washed keeping the crackle
Caution: Using the patterns as decoration detached from meaning ignores who may wear them and on what occasion, which turns the cloth discourteous.
Further study: Parang patterns and court restriction / Solo versus Yogyakarta styles / the multicultural coastal batiks

Related entries

Wayang Kulit (ワヤン・クリ（影絵芝居）)Shared effects: Calm / Intimacy.Compare Batik and Wayang Kulit
Paper Marbling (マーブリング)Shared effects: Luxury / Intimacy.Compare Batik and Paper Marbling

Often confused with

Adire (アディレ)compare

Cite this entry

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Link: https://indexstyle.org/styles/batik
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