By courtesy of the Academy Art Shop, New York
Copyright, 1920, by the “Keramic Studio,” Syracuse, N. Y.
FIRST LESSONS IN BATIK
CHAPTER I
THE HISTORY OF BATIK
The word “Batik” is Javanese, and means to paint or draw or design with wax on textiles so that when placed in the dye the wax prevents the part covered from taking the color. The wax is then removed by hot water or gasoline, leaving the parts thus covered of the original color.
From early times and in many places designs have been made in this manner on various kinds of objects, but the process reached its highest development in its application to woven fabrics. Wax seems to have been used in this manner in southern India and probably in some other parts of southeastern Asia for centuries. Early Buddhistic books of the ninth or tenth century refer to a wax painting process, and there are preserved in Japan ancient Indian cloths which have been colored in this manner.
This process of wax painting, however, reached its highest development in Java, where it was probably introduced about the twelfth century. The earliest written record we have states that in 1518, there was a flourishing industry of this sort at Cheribon, Java, which showed certain remarkable resemblances to the processes employed on the Coromandel coast of southern India. The work was done by men, and plant and animal motives were largely used in the designs. At that time, that portion of the island had not yet been Mohammedanized, as we see by the designs used.
After Mohammedanism spread over the island, the industry developed rapidly, and many new and original patterns were added to those formerly used. The highest development was in central Java, where “Batik” flourished especially during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Here the work was carried on by women, especially by those of the leisure class, who could give the time and care necessary to the production of the finest work. Some designs were so elaborate and difficult that only the nobility could afford them and a few designs were reserved for the use of royalty. In these designs, indigoes or browns are the predominating colors.
The first detailed account of Batik making was by Raffles in 1817. At that time the “tjanting,” an instrument which will be explained later, was in universal use. How long it had been used and when it superseded the brush, which was doubtless used earlier, as it was in India, is not known. About 1860, a new process was introduced by means of which the wax was transferred to the cloth by a metal stamp dipped in the melted wax and then pressed on the cloth. This stamping process is known as “tjap” and is done by men, while in Batik work the designing and painting are always done by women. It is doubtless an adaptation of the color printing process of India to the wax process. In some cases after stamping, the opposite side is Batiked, but this is not common. These tjap cloths are, of course, much cheaper than true Batiks.