FLOWERS OF THE UNIVERSE textile

In the mid-1800s a folk style called pesisir (coastal) batik was developed in Pekalongan, northern Java by Chinese artisans. With Indonesia still under Dutch colonisation, the foreground wreaths of flowers on this silk piece were inspired by paintings from Europe, earning such cloths the term batik buketan (bouquet).  

 

The intricate isén (filling patterns) include old motifs such as grinsing. These are tiny nucleated circles that look like fish scales, seen here in burnt orange. The freeform shapes of the textile background are known as sekar jagad, or flowers of the universe.

 

This pattern is said to express the happiness of finding a partner in love. If this cloth had a soundtrack, perhaps it would be Vivaldi’s classical ‘Spring’ concerto on violin.

 

Selendang – shoulder cloth, batik tulis (silk, synthetic dyes), Pekalongan, 
north coast of Central Java

Kindly lent by Kadar and Anton Lucas