Batik Panel featuring a Cloud Pattern

Indonesian weavers, especially those on the island of Java, are justly renowned for their production of batik fabrics, in which wax is applied as a resist medium during successive applications of dye. What sets Indonesian resist-dyeing work apart is the fluid drawing achieved from the use of a small, locally developed vessel. This batik cloth functioned as a hip wrapper, or skirt cloth, and could have worn by men or women. The pattern of elaborate cloud forms, as well as the palette and shading of colors, betrays a strong Chinese influence. Perhaps it was made for a member of the Chinese community located along Java's northern coast.-A Global View: Recent Acquisitions of Textiles, 2012-2016, April 8-September 5, 2016