Other designs have significance in that they designate rank or social prestige. Some hundred of these patterns have regular names, such as “batik parang rusa” and “batik sawat”; these two are reserved for the exclusive use of royalty, and many designs are esteemed as much for their social ranking as for their artistic merit. Decorated silk is occasionally worn by the native aristocracy; it is not in general use, however, and is always made in the form of a “slendang” and worn as a scarf. The colours found in a batik can be interpreted to denote the part of Java in which it was made. Those from Djocdja and Solo are executed in rich tans, beautiful golden browns and deep indigo blue, which colours are used on the royal batiks; the work from these districts is sombre in tone but very rich in design. Pekalongan batiks are usually in white and different shades of blue, or rather cream and blue, for the native treats his fabric with oil before starting to work and this gives a rich creamy tone to the white. Dead white itself is never used as it is literally associated with the dead, being the colour of grave cloths and always signifying death. Variety of colouring in a batik will mean as a rule that the piece had its origin in the district of Samarang.
The prices of the garments of course vary according to the amount of work on the piece. “Kains” can be bought as cheaply as a dollar each and sometimes as much as $25.00 is paid; however, a batik costing as much is rare, and is usually one made to special order. About two to two and a half dollars is the average price one would have to pay for a garment in Java.
TJAPS
Besides the batik done entirely by hand, the native produces a decorated material known as “tjap.” This method can best be compared to block printing, the wax being printed on to the material instead of being applied with a tjanting. Instead of the wooden block associated with block printing, the native uses a sort of die made of wood, on which the design is made by the insertion, edgewise, of thin strips of brass or red copper; in some cases the whole die is made of the red copper. These “tjaps” are reminiscent of the work done in Madras where a similar process has been employed since the 15th century, for the direct application of the dyes.
Some “tjaps” are done entirely by printing with blocks, while others are partly hand-work. The dies are used as time savers when making borders or patterns with a regular repeat. The native artists consider these substitutes, which are sold to the poorer classes for daily wear, very inferior to real batik and no Javanese of any standing would dream of “lowering himself” by wearing one.
At the present time not many die-makers are found, as there is only a comparatively small market for the work. A die is so solidly constructed and lasts so long, that once made, there is seldom a re-order of the same design. The price of dies varies according to the size and elaborateness of the design, ranging from about 25 cents, American money, to as high as $24.00. In Samarang there are still a few men who trade in these tjaps, whilst in Soerabaja there is only one man known who is able to make them.
The copper used in the making of tjaps comes in three different weights; the lightest is used for the making of fine outlines, the second weight for the heavier lines, whilst the third and heaviest weight is used for the frame work. Like the tjanting, the tjap is constructed in three parts; first, the body of the instrument which is composed of the variously bent strips of copper which make the design, then the frame-work which holds these strips together and lastly the metal handle.
The tjap has to replace the work done with the tjanting, therefore the object of the tjap-maker is to replace all tjanting lines with strips of copper of varying sizes, which, when printed, will give the effect of perfect tjanting work. To that end, the strips of copper have to be curved and bent, and are set in a vertical position, that is, with the edges uppermost; this of course is very delicate work which requires good craftsmanship and much patience.
In making the tjaps, the copper plates of different thicknesses are first cut into strips, each strip of the same width. The design for the tjap is made on paper, and the copper strips are bent in the various shapes as indicated in this design. Here is where the good craftsmanship is essential as it is no easy matter to reproduce fine curved lines with the strips, especially in the case of flowered designs as no sharp angles may be shown in the bending of the copper. Then the whole design is soldered together, and fixed by the same process on to the frame to which the handle is attached.
This does not, however, complete the die-maker’s work, for as in batik work with the tjanting where the material is waxed on both sides, so with the tjap does the fabric have to be printed on the reverse side as well. Thus, the die-maker has to make a second tjap in which the design is the exact reverse of the first one. It takes a die-maker about twenty days to make a complete set, that is two corresponding tjaps, each about eight by eight inches square, for which he gets about $8.00. Out of this of course he has to pay for his materials.