Fangirling over Oey Soe Tjoen

 

Recently published books on Oey Soe Tjoen, 

'Oey Soe Tjoen - Duta Batik Peranakan' by Pak William Kwan Hwie Liong 

and the special edition of 'Oey Soe Tjoen - Merajut Asa Dalam Sejuta Impian' 

that came in the black box with red bow

On a Batik tulis by KUB Srikandi in the style of Oey Soe Tjoen

High on my wish-list of must-visit and must buy is Batikworkshop Oey Soe Tjoen. In the realm of Batik this is a very well-known name. It is one of the few Batikworkshops that is strongly connected to colonial history and still produces high quality high demand Batiks today.

I was planning to write on this for a while. I got two books in beginning of December and I was like, I will write when I have time to sit down and read them. Because I have a lot of reading and data processing going on for my researchproject next to starting up 4 collaboration projects, I did not manage to do more than flipping through the books. So today I though, I will just start this post and make this shout out to the third generation successor of Oey Soe Tjoen, Widianti Widjaja, nickname Kiem Lian. 

A few books from my collection which mention Oey Soe Tjoen, 

'Batik Design ' by Pepin Roojen, 'Batik Creating an Identity' by Lee Chor Lin, 

'Batik Belanda 1840-1940 - Dutch influence in Batik from Java, History and Stories' by H.C. Veldhuisen and 'De Batikkerij Van Zuylen' te Pekalongan

First a little more about Oey Soe Tjoen, Buketan & books. The first book I bought on Batik, 'Batik Creating an Identity' by Lee Chor Lin, included beautiful pieces by Oey Soe Tjoen and every book I bought after that. Even the books that were more focussed on Indo-European influence on Batik like 'Batik Belanda' by Veldhuisen and 'Fabric of Enchantment'. This has in a large part to do with the use of the 'Buketan' motif, the bouquet of (wild) flowers, on many of the Oey Soe Tjoen Batiks. The Oey Soe Tjoen family have always been working with Batik. At the end of the 19th century it starts with Oey Khing Tik and his wife, Siauw Tik Nio, as the first generation. The couple worked as batik traders. They did not make their own batik, but purchased Batik Kain and sarongs directly from pembatiks living in the Kedungwuni region, and re-sold them. Eventually they started producing their own batiks; Tulis, Cap and Kombinasi (Combination of Tulis and Cap). Their son Oey Soe Tjoen followed in their footsteps. Oey Soe Tjoen began to learn the business at a young age by helping his parents. He married in 1925 with Kwee Tjoen Giok Nio (more often called Kwee Nettie). Kwee Tjoen Giok Nio parents sold natural dye materials. In the beginning Oey Soe Tjoen would have used natural dyes, but their batiks are far better known for their bright colours in synthetic dyes.***

Oey Soe Tjoen started making imitations of the very popular motif ‘Buketan’, bouquet, after the designs of Indo-European Batik entrepreneurs Eliza van Zuylen (1863-1947). From the beginning of the 20th century until today the Buketan motif is very populair on Batiks from Pekalongan (ID). The tradition was starting, according to Dutch scholars, by Eliza van Zuylen, nickname Lies, and her sister Christina van Zuylen, nickname Tina. Tina's husband had a shop from which he sold school supplies, while his wife Tina sold floral arrangements aka bouquets. At some point they added Batik to their items to sell and when this went well Lien Metzelaar, another famous Batik entrepreneur, 'lent' Tina three Batikmakers. Elisa van Zuylen at some point also got three Batikmakers and around 1900's made a workshop at the Heerenstraat.* Eliza van Zuylen, or Tina, might have been the inventors of the Buketan motif, it was the Peranakan-Chinese Batik entrepreneurs in the same region who brought it to another level, and Oey Soe Tjoen was one of them. He added his own effect to the design creating a kind of shade in the flowers leaves. A story goes that Van Zuylen tried to create this effect herself but couldn’t.*** Emphasised in this juicy quote from 'Fabric of Enchantment': "While Oey started by imitating Lies van Zuylen's bouquets, he is the one who created a unique three-dimensional effect, which was perfectly copied by other Peranakan entrepreneurs {...}Van Zuylen herself tried to imitate the effect after 1935 for a Peranakan customer but did not succeed".*

After Oey Soe Tjoen died in 1976, his son, Muljadi Widjaja, and daughter-in-law, Istianti Setiono, ran the shop with his widow Kwee, still signing the batiks with Oey’s name. Kwee passed away in 1996, leaving the business to the second generation to run it further.
Muljadi Widjaja and Istianti Setiono had three children. Their daughter Widianti Widjaja was born on November 23, 1976, and was taught the dyeing techniques by her father. Muljadi Widjaja passed away in 2002 and the family business was carried on by his widow Istianti Setiono. 
Today the batikworkshop is run by their daughter Widianti Widjaja and she continued producing the classic Batiks in the legacy of her parents and grandparents. She experiments with developing new designs, but always including the aesthetic elements that had become the trademark of Oey Soe Tjoen Batik.***

Pagi-Sore Batik by Oey Soe Tjoen in the exhibition 'Kruispunt Rotterdam' in Wereldmuseum

With going to the Oey Soe Tjoen workshop on my wish-list and returning to Java being somewhere in the future, I got very excited when the news came a book on Oey Soe Tjoen would be published, again. The first book that was written on this Batikworkshop was by no other than my Batik-mentor Pak William Kwan. It was only published only limited edition and sold out before I knew it was out. Luckily last year the book got re-published and also a new book was made. I could swap the two Oey Soe Tjoen books with two Dutch published books on Batik. I managed to get the special edition and when I opened it, I literally screamed of joy! The book includes a small Batik by Oey Soe Tjoen! So although I couldn't visit and shop at the workshop, I did get one! I am still over the moon with it!

I mentioned Widianti Widjaja, the current boss of Oey Soe Tjoen, also in my recent previous post 'Taking Batik Online' and she truly is part of the current online development we see in Batik. Next to being a guest in all kinds of Zooms and IG lives, she uses her own social media to post pictures and video of the making process. Which is an amazing thing. The quality of her work is very high. She has Batikmakers, but she makes Batik herself and does the entire dye-process. Very similar to Ibu Ramini of Batikworkshop KUB Srikandi. They are not bosses, they are Batik! And it is amazing to get in invite in this process through the internet. And not by someone who visits, but by Widianti herself! So go check it out on www.instagram.com/widianti_lian/

At the moment in the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam one amazing piece from the Oey Soe Tjoen workshop is on display in the new semi-permanent exhibition 'Kruispunt Rotterdam'. It opened in September 2020, but the museum has hardly been open. Although the textiles on display will be changed, I hope we still can see the current picked pieces. The Batik by Oey Soe Tjoen was bought, or ordered to be precise, by the former textile conservator of the Wereldmuseum during a travel & collect journey she made on Java in 1968. Because I was involved in the selection process of the Indonesian textile pieces for this exhibition, I got to see this Batik up-close and it still has the price label on it! It is displayed with this to the wall, which is for me odd, because often signed/tagged/stamped pieces by Indo-European Batik entrepreneurs, as mentioned before, would have been displayed with their signature in full sight... So I share the pictures I took in the depot of the signature, labels and stamps here below:

Stamp & signature on Pagi-Sore Batik currently on display at Wereldmuseum

Original sticker and label with the price it was bought for in 1968

With Batik history how it is shared in the Netherlands, it is interesting how a Batikworkshop as huge and important as Oey Soe Tjoen mainly gets mentioned in comparison, however the Oey Soe Tjoen legacy still exists and flourish today! And I am so happy it is being celebrated, with books, exhibitions and online!

To enjoy more Widianti Widjaja, check out the IG interview aNERDspective 30 by aNERDgallery. On the website of aNERDgallery you find the full interview written out in English. 

And on IG Live with Widianti Widjaja on Lawasan Batik

And on Youtube in the recent webinar 'Batik: Warisan Budaya Peranakan - Nggosipin Tionghoa Yuk! Pertemuan Keduapuluhsembilan' 

or here in an interview done by Weltmuseum, 'Jani Kuhnt-Saptodewo in an interview with Descendants of Oey Soe Tjoen'

To enjoy more Oey Soe Tjoen, buy the books, also through aNERDgallery, or look at the pieces in the NMvW collection

or in the online exhibition 'Singapore, Sarong Kebaya and Style: Peranakan Fashion - Discover the style of the Peranakan – a hybrid of interactions between people from Asia and Europe' on Google Arts & Culture

To read more about the Buketan motif, check out my previous post 'Pattern Edition Batik Statement: Buketan'

* From 'Fabric of Enchantment' and 'De batikkerij Van Zuylen'

** Blogpost title 'Fangirling over'; a girl or woman who is an extremely or overly enthusiastic fan of someone or something. fangirl. verb. fangirled; fangirling; fangirls.

*** Information from Pak William Kwan as mentioned in his book Oey Soe Tjoen - Duta Batik Peranakan

Gringsing, warrior pants or fever catcher

Photo of man in Batik pants with Gringsing motif, 

'Portret van een lid van het huispersoneel', 

ca. 1890-1900, collection NMVW, number TM-60008404

On the first of June my article 'De he­len­de krach­ten van het gring­s­ing-mo­tief 'on the batikmotif Gringsing was published on Modemuze. My article was a reaction to the theme-page posted before on Modemuze with the title 'The Fashion of Protection'. The post was made inspired by and in reference to the current pandemic we are in.In it Grinsging is mentioned as an apotropaic motif. The motif is widely known with Batikfans, however I knew little of it and thought it would be nice to explore this motif in more depth, especially in this strange and scary times we are in.

Hope you are safe and able to social distance! Keep in mind that although it is very cool that in past time and maybe still Gringsing was used as a protective cloth, better to wear a facemask, wash your hands and keep keeping that distance.

Batik with Gringsing motif hanging to dry after dye bath, 

at batikworkshop Winotosastro in Yogyakarta, Java (ID) in 2016

Grinsing, or Gringsing is a motif build up from little halve circles with a dot in the middle of each circle. Gringsing is a backgroundmotif, isen-isen, or filling motif. This means that it is used on the background of a Batik design. Filling motifs always have names and meanings, but they are seldom the main motif. However when Gringsing is used it is often the main meaning of the Batik cloth: namely to protect the wearer from illness.

Protection can simple be gained by wearing it or by using it during rituals. In these rituals a traditional medicine man, doekoen, or family member would wrap the cloth with the Gringsing motif around the sick person. The cloth in this way would catch the illness, specifically fever. The motif is very common in slendangs, a small Batik used as a carrier for babies. It is especially important to protect newborns from disease, so a little extra support is always helpful.

I contacted different Batikexperts about the meaning and the use of the Gringsing motif. What I noticed was that immediately they pointed out that this use was in the past. Often one gets a giggly respons when talking about old rituals connected to folk belief. The general feel is that they are outdated or just superstition and don't match with modern (Islamic) believes. But most folk beliefs are connected to Kejawen and are embedded with traditional Javanese culture. 

I did find a nice reference in the book 'Gedragen doeken' by Liesje de Leeuw. In the chapter 'Oma's sarong vangt koorts' ('Grandmothers sarong catches fever') Evy van Cauter tells how her Indonesian mother-in-law would use one of her old sarongs when someone got ill. She would wrap the children with fever tightly in the cloth and put them to bed. "The sarong would catch the fever", Van Cauter says.

My contacts did all tell me that Gringsing was very old. The motif also has different versions in different regions on Java. There is one that is more square, others are more diamond shaped. Inspired by this writing this blogpost, I thought it would be nice if you can learn about this and practice these different types of Gringsing in a colouringpage. 

This and other colouring pages are free downloadable on my website!

The colouring pages are free to download on my website

On Java makers and wearers distinguish themselves with motifs connected to their region. There are even motifs that are strictly for the royal family, Vorstenlanden or 'princely lands' Batik motifs. These 'prohibited' motifs, Larangan, are good recognisable by their repetitive designs. Within the kraton familymembers each family would get their own versions of certain motifs like Parang or Kawung.

These motifs are symbol for balance, inner peace and decisiveness. Qualities fitting with good leadership. Nowadays the Larangan motifs are worn by everybody and are made by almost all batikworkshops. These motifs are extremely populair because of their connection to power. Gringsing is also very populair and is also being made all across Java, however it is not one of these formally prohibited motifs.

Books with info on Gringsing, 

starting at the top; 'batik klasik' by Dr. Hamzuri (1981), 

'Batik, Fabled cloth of Java' by Inger McCabe Elliot (1984), 

'Gedragen Doeken' by Liesje de Leeuw (2016), 

'Ensiklopedia, the Heritage of Batik' by Primus Supriono (2016) 

and 'Batik, ontwerp, stijl en geschiedenis' by Fiona Kerlogue (2004)

Looking for answers I turned to my books on Batik. Gringsing is described as frog-rill, scales, snake or dragon skin with a note that it wards of diseases. It is also not helping that the double Ikat weaving technique from the region Tenganan on Bali is called the same - with a slightly different spelling - Gerinsing. This ikat also has the same meaning.

The meaning is being explained through the literal translation of the word in Sankrit: 'Gering' is 'sick' or 'illness', while 'sing' is 'not' or 'no'. About the correctness of this explanation are different opinions, just as on the possible similarities between these two Indonesian textiles. In short the motifs just don't look enough alike to explain their similar name and meaning.

After going through the books I owned, I ended up at my PDF version of one of the oldest books on Batik, 'De Batik-kunst in Nederlandsch-Indië en haar geschiedenis' by G.P. Rouffaer and Dr. H.H. Juynboll from 1914. According to Rouffaer Gringsing is one of the oldest Batikmotifs. It is mentioned in different Javanese sources and the oldest of these sources is the Pararaton, Pustaka Raja or the Book of Kings from the 13th century.

In this manuscript are short stories on the kings of the Singhasari and Majapahit empire. These empires boundaries stretched beyond Java, over other Indonesian islands and part of what is now Malaysia. In 1896 linguist Dr. J.L.A. Brandes published a study of the manuscript with translations in Dutch. 

Another important source that is mentioned by Rouffaer is the Malat. A Balinese manuscript from the legacy of  linguist H.N. van der Tuuk. In here Grinsging is connected with different types of Wayang stories, shadow puppet theatre. Rouffaer uses Plate 58 in as an example in his book. It shows a square cloth, possible a headscarf, that was part of a series of samples with motifs from Yogyakarta. 

'Batikpatroon: Gringsing wayang',  from before 1891, number RV-847-114, collection NMVW 

Published as plate 58 in 'De Batik-kunst in Nederlandsch-Indië en haar geschiedenis' from 1914

The square cloth shows different Wayang characters surrounded by Gringsing. Rouffaer thinks this is an example of 'Gringsing Wajang', which is mentioned in the old sources mentioned in this article. However the 'Gringsing Wajang' is also a motif within the earlier mentioned Geringsing, the double woven ikats from bali. In the book 'Five centuries of Indonesian textiles - the Mary Hunt Kahlenberg collection' is a beautiful example included.

Photo of page 218 -219 from the book 

'Five centuries of Indonesian textiles - the Mary Hunt Kahlenberg collection' 

One of the biggest discoveries Rouffaer made was that Gringsing was in the 16th century part of the ‘Javaanse oorlogskostuum’ (Javanese war uniform) as he calls it:

"Yet before, in earlier times, especially in the 16th century, Yes, then Javanese would wear a martial semi-long pants, their lantjingan, of batiked cloth. And again mainly with that Gringsing-motif..."

“Doch vroeger. Speciaal in de 16e eeuw. Ja, toen droegen de Javanen hun krijgshaftige haIf lange broek, hun lantjingan, van gebatikte stof. En alweer voornamelijk in dat gringsing-patroon”…” - Rouffaer, G.P., De Batik-kunst in Nederlandsch-Indië en haar geschiedenis, page. 430.

That these warrior pants were made of ikat was less likely. If you put scissors to a so fine woven ikat like that it would unravel without stopping. Yet the royal family did wear pants of woven Songket and Ikat fabric if I am not mistaken, but it had to be woven in that shape already, so an very expensive product. 

So the old manuscript might be writing about Batik, or Ikat, or Batik...

Rouffaer also concluded that the Gringsing Batikmotif could only be made with the use of a canting, waxpen. 

To conclude, Gringsing is very old, maybe the oldest Batikmotifs known. It possible gave warriors strenght and protection, exactly what we need now in our battle against Covid-19. A fitting motif in these difficult and scary times.

Thanks Modemuze, Modemuze editor-buddy Roberto Luis martins, my Batikmentor Pak William Kwan and fellow batik-fan Jennifer Wanardi! 

The colouring pages are free to download on my website

Pattern Edition Batik Statement: Pagi-Sore

Happy Hari Kartini! 

The 21st of April is a special day for me, not only because we celebrate this Javanese princess birthday, but also because I started my blog on this date 9 years ago. Nine years, I can't believe I'm blogging this long and can't believe I'm heading towards 10 years! 

Last year I started my Pattern Edition Batik Statement series and was planning to do more, but my health got in the way. The booklet I promised to be made is also on hold. I still want to make it, but I need some budget to do so. So please pre-order at sabine{@}sabinebolk.nl, so I can make it happen!! 

But let's not talk about what didn't happen, let's share what did!

Nine years of blogging and 6 years of Batik Statements, two actual journeys to Batik and the first Wastra Weekend together with Marlisa of animal park Taman Indonesia. I started blogging last year also for Modemuze and very happy I did so!  

Last Monday I went with my honey to the exhibition 'Van Gogh & Japan' at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. I haven't been there in a long time. I had to see this exhibition, because his work inspired by Japan had a significant impact on me. I made a school project when I was 16 about Japanese woodblock printing and got interested in how it influenced Van Gogh's work. I have had this poster of his version of a Geisha for ever and it went with me from house to house. 

When I got reminded by Social Media about a work I made 7 years ago, I started thinking on what works I made inspired by Vincent and it turned out there were many. 

The last one was my design for a Pagi-Sore Batik. Batik representing Day and Night on one cloth. This way of designing a Batik was a clever way of incorporating two designs onto one cloth, so you could change your look during the day. I loved how it was also translated in the design by showing light and darkness, beginnings and endings, life and death. 

I designed the Batik in 2011, see 'Work in progress 'Difficult Time'. The idea behind it was to learn how a Batik design was made and how patterns change when made with actual canting. I was researching then, as I am now, Batik influenced by Indo-European entrepreneurs. I was curious to see what would happen if I designed a "European painting" and let this be made into a Javanese Batik. Would there be a miss-communication or re-interpretation of the patterns I drew?

I wanted to use Sunflowers, because of the obvious Van Gogh connection, but also because it is secretly such a global flower. I also wanted to include our way of seeing Europe, the Holidays to France with all the Sunflowers standing in rows pointing their heads towards the Sun. Next to that I wanted to incorporate growth, next to waiting; patience, next to strength. By repeating rows and rows of Sunflowers, growing & blooming, next to faded Sunflowers which feed garden birds through the winter months. 

After I made the painting, I traced it onto paper and send it to Pak William Kwan who would give it to the pembatiks of Jeruk. It was almost a year later that I got the first photos of the Batiks, two batiks made after my design! I believe they arrived by post even months after that. As many of my projects, they take time and I was happy to exhibit the Batiks for the first time at the beginning of this year at Taman Indonesia during our first Wastra Weekend (next Wastra Weekend 23 & 24 February 2019). Still haven't showed it together with the original painting, but I'm sure a perfect place will present itself over time.

Back to Monday. I thought it would be cool to pose with the Pagi-Sore Batik between the paintings at the Van Gogh museum. But being tackled by security didn't seem to be the best thing to do on a Monday, so Koen took a picture of me outside, after our visit. The picture this blogpost starts with. This photo inspired me to make a new Pattern Edition Batik Statement: Pagi-Sore.

I'm looking forward to the 10th year of my journey to Batik and wish to make a next actual journey to Batik (still only in wanting, not yet planned). 

So 9 years have passed of my quest, my exploration and research on Batik. The history and the future, the inspiration and the fashion, the heritage in other textiles like wax prints and how it is all connected through our (Dutch) colonial past. 

In what extra way would you, dear reader, like me to celebrate this 10th year of blogging? Please share your ideas and requests in the comments below! 

And which topics I should write about more? Let me know! 

My journey is made possible by your feedback, reads, shares, comments and motivation! So thank you, terima kasih and dankjewel! 

For more about my Batik design in the previous post 'Difficult Time'

For more on my work as an artist go to www.sabinebolk.nl

Pattern Edition Birthday Batik Day Statements

Batik with banana flower motif by Ibu Ramini 

& wax print with bananas by African Textiles Holland

Banana plant from Taman Indonesia & Bananas from Ekoplaza, 

Since I started my Batik Statement series in 2012, I've also been making Batik Statements to celebrate Batik Day & my birthday, both today! 

Last year I was standing in Barbara's jungle garden in Sleman, near Yogyakarta. I made a series with the newly bought Batiks. The year before I posted my version of 'We Can Do It'. Which was used this year for the IDFX project 'Colourful Woman Power'!

I use my Batik Statements as reflections. Reflections of what I find important, what and who inspires me and to share my and others love for Batik. My series maybe started as a joke, but they became part of my work. This part is always tricky and something I'm always contemplating about: What is my work as an artist? And when is it not Art?

I consider myself as an artist first, always, in every role I get or play. I say role, but you can fill in job, assignment, idea...Of course when I blog, when I'm writing, when I organise an event or do someones PR, I'm not making Art, yet I am not not an artist at that moment. From everything I do I get inspiration and I also learned "making an artwork" can have many forms. In my case; a nature walk, a film, a temporary carpet, a performance, a school project, yes maybe even my Batik Statements, maybe even my blog. When I write, I feel I create, but the next day I have to take a photo, so I end up on a cold February morning in a Wax print with a banana plant at my feet before my camera. I ended up not using the pictures, till now, because they didn't fit the idea I got from making them; the new Pattern Edition Batik Statement series. 

Made this photo in February

When me and Koen go somewhere, recently I end up taking a Batik or another fabric with me. I'm walking around with this idea in my head and think out places to make the shot. Like the previous posted Batik Buketan and Pisan Bali made in a public garden and at a museum. In the same way. I ended up posing with ducks at the Botanical Garden. Because, well because I have this crazy Batik dress with flying ducks and a khanga from my brother with ducks and I needed to pose in it with actual ducks. I love that Koen supports me in my crazy ideas!

Posing with ducks at Botanical Garden in Utrecht in May

Wearing Batik Cap dress bought at Taman Indonesia, with a Khanga with ducks and my Sankofa earring from Ubuntu

While documenting some of my Batiks I brought with me from my last journey, I got the idea of staging Tracey Emin's famous 'I've Got It All' photo using Batiks instead of money. I had muscle ache for a week after this picture haha. And then I though, how do I share this? I love Tracey Emin, but who will get it? And, why am I making these statements? 

Well, I guess because I'm an artist.

After Tracey Emin's 'I've Got It All' (2000), made in March

I will be making a booklet to celebrate 5 years of making Batik Statemenst! I already had some pre-orders, sorry for the delay, I hope to be ready at the end of this year. You can pre-order your copy at sabine{at}sabinebolk.nl and you will receive first option to buy it! They will be limited edition, so le me know if you want one!

Pattern Edition Batik Statement: Pisan Bali

The end of Summer is here and Batik Day is around the corner. Time for a new Pattern Edition of my Batik Statements. With this series of 'statements' I try to explain the meaning of a pattern or motif. During my journey on Java last year, I noticed that every dot or line on a Batik has a name. Sometimes the Batik as a whole represents something, but also every individual detail has its own name and meaning. To learn a little more about Batiks and their story I thought it would be nice to capture their meaning in Batik Statements.

Let me introduce: Pisan Bali

The first time I clearly saw this motif was last year around this time. I was given a tour through Batang meeting different Batikmakers. One of them was the lovely Ibu Rasminah who is also featured in my film 'The journey to Batik, Tari Batik'. She was just finishing this Batik with a big motif on it. It had its first colour bath, blue, and was ready in wax for the second colour bath, brown. Eight big orchid flower shapes formed the base with in between a smaller Garuda winged motif. At the time the pattern was described to me like a kind of seashell. 

A week later I returned to the Batang region to film. Arriving at Ibu Rasminah she showed us the finished Batik. It was wonderful, a deep dark cloth with a big yet subtle motif on it, I had to have it and I'm very happy I bought it.

After this first clear encounter with this motif, I started spotting the orchid flower shapes on more and more Batiks, big and small. In the Fashionshow at Museum Pekalongan, in Batiks I already owned and in newly bought ones. There had to be a story for this pattern.

Looking for something else, I found the motif online with the name Pisang Bali. I started googling and found a description that it was a lar motif, wing shaped pattern, like Garuda (note: I will put Lar & Garuda on the list for this series).

I read online that it was called 'Pisang', as in Banana, because it was an abstract version of the banana flower. If you ever saw a Pisang flower, which is beautiful, you know this is not what it looks like, not even with a lot of abstraction.

In my books I found the motif as Pisan Bali, without the g. After asking Pak William Kwan about this, he explained; Pisan means once, Bali means returns. This Batik motif symbolises loyalty. Once you commit to a vow, a promise, you have to keep it. 

I read somewhere (sorry, I have the info but forgot to write down the sources, terrible) that the motif was popular to give to travellers, seafarers, who were leaving to wish for their safe return. 

Be safe and come back soon!

Thanks Batik expert William Kwan Hwie Liong for the information!

Thank you Koen de Wit for taking the pictures and making the GIF!

Pictures were made at Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkhuizen (NL)

Pattern Edition Batik Statement: Buketan

Summertime is Batik time! I spotted this field of flowers and knew this was a good spot for my 4th  Pattern Edition Batik Statement. With this series of 'statements' I try to explain the meaning of a pattern or motif. During my journey on Java last year, I noticed that every dot or line on a Batik has a name. Sometimes the Batik as a whole represents something, but also every individual detail has its own name and meaning. To learn a little more about Batiks and their story I thought it would be nice to capture their meaning in 'Batik Statements'.

Let me introduce: Buketan

Buketan comes from the Dutch word boeket or bouquet in English. Buketan is used as a big motif on Batik in both the kepala, the head, and the badan, the body. It literrally looks like a bouquet of wild flowers, loosely arranged without a vase or bow. Usually its surrounded by flying birds, butterflies and insects. 

When you think of Batik Buketan, you think of Pekalongan. The city were the motif was invented and is still being made today. 

The motif is first made by, or at least got famous by, Eliza van Zuylen. Eliza van Zuylen (1863-1947) ran a Batikworkshop in Pekalongan producing high-quality designs for a Indo-European, European and Peranakan clientele. Next to designing her own, she copied designs of other batik entrepreneurs. Her Indo-European styled Batik combined traditional Javanese motifs with Art Nouveau patterns. In the book 'Fabric of Enchantment' is written that her design of an asymmetrical tree with wading birds, evolved into a wisteria tree, blauweregen in Dutch, sheltering peacocks. This then became a bouquet of assorted flowers around 1910.

A story of how Van Zuylen designed her buketans goes that she used cut-outs of flowers and arranged them. So the same way as how you would arrange an actual bouquet. Her paper arrangement was then transferred onto paper and turned into a Batik. Fun fact, her sister, Christina van Zuylen, who ran a Batikworkshop also, first sold floral arrangements and bouquets.

Eliza van Zuylen was the last Indo-European to have her workshop open during the Japanese occupation (1941-1945). After the capitulation she got interned by the Indonesians. She passed away in 1947. Her Batik workshop got plundered, yet, Oei Khing Liem, a Peranakan entrepreneur, whose backyard bordered Van Zuylen's batikworkshop, still offered a large sum of money for the rights of her signature. The offer was declined. He already was making copies of her Batik Buketan designs, without the signature.

Chinese Batikmakers started using the design all over the North coast area of Java. And it is within these workshops the Buketan legacy still remains. 

Nowadays the best Batik Buketan can still be bought in the Pekalongan area. Widianti Widjaja, granddaughter of Oey Soe Tjoen, still makes her grandfathers famous 3D designs. I heard the waiting list for a Batik from this workshop is 7 years, or was it 3 years, anyway it is worth the wait. 

Oey Soe Tjoen started around 1925 with his wife Kwee Nettie Kendoengwoeni. They both designed Batiks, but they got most famous for their copies of Eliza van Zuylen's Buketan. He created a unique three-dimensional effect in which rows of dots create this shadow effect in the flower petals. Apparently Van Zuylen tried to copy this effect and couldn't...

In 1975 the workshop was taken over by his son and is now run by his granddaughter. This fierce lady is in the documentary 'Batik, Our Love Story', showing how the high-quality Batiks stay high-quality. The Batiks are made in 7 colour baths, which means that the wax is applied 7 times. If in any of these steps a mistake is made, they start with a new Batik. In the docu you see Widianti Widjaja preparing the cloths, drawing the designs on and checking the cloths between steps. A hardworking lady with a beautiful product! Hope to visit her workshop during a next visit to Java!

On my Batik Statement I'm wearing a body warmer, made for my mother from a, yes fake, batik my grandmother bought and a skirt, my grandmother had made on Java. The fake printed textile is based on the famous designs by Oey Soe Tjoen. My mother wore this for years when she was working in garden and I got it from her when I was preparing for my first journey to Java. Normally I would always go for a real Batik-Batik Statement, but with all the copying going on of the Buketan motif a fake copy fits the story, doesn't it?

Photos made by Koen de Wit, Thank you! 



Read more:

Last October I made a Batik Buketan carpet at Museum Pekalongan during the Batik Week 

My first post about Batik Buketan 

More about Eliza van Zuylen in my previous posts Give honor to whom it’s due 
and Difficult Time 

Pattern Edition Batik Statement: Beras Wutah

Summertime is Batik time! I received some nice Batik Statements through Social Media, keep sharing that Batik love! Now time for a third Pattern Edition of my Batik Statements. With this series of 'statements' I try to explain the meaning of a pattern or motif. During my journey on Java last year, I noticed that every dot or line on a Batik has a name. Sometimes the Batik as a whole represents something, but also every individual detail has its own name and meaning. To learn a little more about Batiks and their story I thought it would be nice to capture their meaning in 'Batik Statements'.

Let me introduce: Beras Wutah
When I was making my Batik Buketan carpet for the Museum Batik in Pekalongan, people of the museum were joking it was so nice I even used a famous Batik motif for the background. They were referring to Beras Wutah. 
Beras Wutah gets translated as 'Graines of Rice', or sprinkled and spilled rice. The motif is used as an isen-isen; a background motif or so called filling motif. The traditional pattern looks like actual grains of rice are scattered over the textile.
In Jeruk during my last visit I discovered a new version of this motif. Ibu Maryati started making it bigger, which resulted in a modern looking polkadot kind of pattern. Only thing is that this new interpretation looks very much like the 'Broken Stone' motif, Krecakan, Watu Krecak or Watu Pecah, Lasem is famous for. The difference for me is that the 'Broken Stone' is a more triangle shaped dot and the 'Big grains of Rice' by Ibu Maryati are more oval dots.
And the difference is they told me which were what.

When thinking of how to show this motif, I thought of the Catholic tradition to sprinkle newlyweds with rice when they leave the church. A nice way of explaining this motif to people here. What, wait, why do we throw rice at newlyweds?
When I started googling I got all these things about how we started using rice because it was cheaper than corn...That it came from the Greeks...or ancient Romans...We apparently did copy a lot of Catholic wedding rituals from the Romans, like the veil and being carried over the threshold, but throwing food at the newlyweds is probably not one of them...

Rice is a major food staple and is eaten daily in most places on this planet, especially in Asia. Because its is such an important food source in almost all Asian countries, rice is also used in many rituals. Mostly the rice is put, sprinkled or spilled on the ground to protect or to invite spirits in (Lakshmi Puja), to let babies make their first steps (Tedak Siten) or for the bride to show she is going to bring abundance to her new family. This last one and more wedding related rituals include rice are popular in India and common in Hinduism. During the wedding ceremony rice is used as food, sacrifice, a combination of the two. They are sitting on it, walking on it, throwing it in boiling water, fire and on each other. Also, and here comes the Catholic tradition from, when the groom ties the thali, a kind of necklace, around the brides neck, which is similar to the putting rings on the finger-moment, they get showered by rice.

Rice is food and therefor it is life. Wishing for a good harvest, is wishing for a future. A better harvest equals a better life.
Rituals to honour the Goddess of Rice, which has different names in different countries, are not only just to get more rice. It is asking for a healthy and fruitful life, it is asking for fertility and nowadays also businessmen asking for money.
Using rice as a Batik motif is wishing for the same things. Maybe the big grains of rice are not so subtle, but they are very pretty!

In this Batik Statement I'm wearing a skirt that was custom made for me last year by The Aria Batik. This brand by my friend Jennifer Wanardi sells wonderful Batik Tulis & Cap. From Lasem, Jeruk, Yogyakarta and other places. She is all about supporting pembatiks, learning about the Art of Batik and you can order custom made clothing from amazing Batiks.
The Batik for the skirt and background are both made by Ibu Maryati in Jeruk. The background Batik has a similar motif with a different isen-isen. Koen is wearing a blouse I bought in Lasem with the famous Latohan motif on it, maybe for a next pattern edition more about that one.

Special thanks to Koen for throwing the rice!
Thanks to Jennifer Wanardi & Siti Alkomah for the right Batik motif names!

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of my Batik Statements I'm making a magazine! A magazine with all my 'Batik Statements' from 2012 - 2016. It will be limited edition and only €10,- if you pre-order at sabine{at}sabinebolk.nl !

Pattern Edition Batik Statement: Udan Liris

Last month I posted my first Batik Statement Pattern Edition. Time for a new one! With this series of 'statements' I try to explain the meaning of a pattern or motif. During my journey on Java last year, I noticed that every dot or line on a Batik has a name. Sometimes the Batik as a whole represents something, but also every individual detail has its own name and meaning. To learn a little more about Batiks and their story I thought it would be nice to capture their meaning in 'Batik Statements'. 

Let me introduce: Udan Liris.
Udan Liris means "Light Rain" or drizzling. Or in Dutch "Motregen". When rain in the Netherlands starts falling diagonal it means it rains pretty hard, but in the case of this Batik motif we are talking about the light, drizzling stuff.
This Batik design is always made out of diagonal lines of different or similar widths. The lines are filled with different motifs. I believe there is a number of different motifs being used to create a ritme, but I forgot if it is always the exact same number of lines (if you know, please comment below!). These filling motifs can have each their own meaning, but together they are Udan Liris.
The motif is diagonal, like the the Parang motif I described in the previous Pattern Edition, and it is also traditionally in brown, black (blue) on white.
Today, likewise with Parang, this motif is mostly made with cap, but still some brave Batikmakers do it by hand. Ibu Rasminah was making one when I was visiting her in Batang with lines of 1 to 2 centimeter width. She didn't liked making it, because she got dizzy from it. I bought one from her with thick lines which will be featured in my book. The one I'm wearing in the statement is a gift from Sacha Lannoye, thank you dear! She bought it on Bali wear it is worn when going to temples. To capture the meaning of Udan Liris I posed for you in rain, heavy thick rain. I thought that if the rain was heavy enough my camera would capture it...Mind you, it was February when I took this photo...it didn't, but I still think it is a clear rain statement.


I received a comment through Facebook about the numbers of lines: 

The maximum of lines is between 7 till 11 different motifs that then repeat again. Seven lines is most common and used to be for 'princesses',. Nine till eleven lines shows the height in rank of royalty. Eleven is for the highest, the Sultan and his family. 

Thanks Renske Heringa for sharing this information with me and the readers of  this blog! And thanks you, Renske, for reading The journey to Batik!

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of my Batik Statements I'm making a magazine! A magazine with all my 'Batik Statements' from 2012 - 2016. It will be limited edition and only €10,- > pre-order now at sabine{at}sabinebolk.nl !

Batik Statement: First Pattern Edition

When you need to prepare, but you watch too many queens 👑 This Batik Statement is for you @denny_satuatap, thanks for the Batik motif cleansing strips 👃#batikstatement #parang #parangmotif #batikcap #biorestrips #queens #canyouwatchtoomuchdrag #bluelips #needtogetbacktowork

A post shared by Sabine Bolk (@sabinebolk) on Jan 25, 2017 at 4:01am PST

With this blogpost I'm starting a new series of 'statements' in which I try to explain the meaning of a pattern or motif. During my journey on Java last year, I noticed that every dot or line on a Batik has a name. Sometimes the Batik as a whole represents something, but also every individual detail has its own name and meaning. To learn a little more about Batiks and their story I thought it would be nice to capture their meaning in 'Batik Statements'. 

We start with 'Parang'. There are different 'Parang' motifs but they look very similar. It is a repeating pattern, traditionally in brown, black (blue) on white, that goes diagonal over the cloth. The white forms a wavy line framed by dots and separated by diamond shapes in between.

The name 'Parang' comes from a type of machete or knife. The white waves on the cloth are build up by S shapes. A 'Parang' knife is shaped in the same way. 

The special thing about 'Parang' is that this pattern was a long time exclusive for royality. For instance, the Parang Rusak (‘broken knife’) motif could only be wornu by those in the Yogyakarta Kraton (the Court), the royal family. Today 'Parang' is probably the most famous Batik motif from Indonesia and a very popular one. My dear friend Denny Antyo is a big fan of 'Parang'. It is actually the only motif he wears. He gave me a funny gift which inspired me to make this statement: Parang motif cleansing nose strips! The other inspiration came from the online queens I follow. Not royalty, but the lovely ladies doing drag. So by honouring these queens I unintentionally made the first 'statement' that explains a motif!

"Sometimes I wish I was a fashion blogger, instead of a...is there a title for a Batik loving, history digging, art making Blogger? It took me quite a lot of time making these pictures and I think I'll stick to my kind of blogging, but I really liked making this post!" 
                                                                                                                            -14 April 2012


Five years ago on this day, I posted my first 'Batik Statements'. The photos I made were a tribute to fashionbloggers, but were also a kind of joke. I made the photos in and around the house, trying to get the bloggerfeel of pretending to be a model in a homely setting.

I had no idea people would like it so much. I got a lot of feedback, which after my first journey to Java hardly happend. I started asking people to share their 'Batik Statements'. I called them that, because I wanted people to make a statement of wearing Batik. I started receiving 'statements' by email and through Facebook. In 2012 I not only made my first 'Batik Statements', I made also new ones for the Batik Day, Hari Batik, contest on 2 October 2012. Later that year I held a 'Batik Statement PhotoShoot' at animal park Taman Indonesia.

Now five years later, I can't believe all the things that followed. I received dozens of 'statements', I made two fashion shows, gave presentations, made live 'statements' and even online tutorials. And last year I actually went as a blogger to the Jakarta FashionWeek 2017!!


To celebrate this 5th anniversary I'm actually making a little booklet! In the booklet will be all my 'Batik Statements' from 2012 - 2016. It will be limited edition!!
Pre-order your copy at sabine{at}sabinebolk.nl and you will receive first option to buy it!

Rasa Nembah

For my upcoming project, my second 'Journey to Batik', I'm exploring how Batik inspires local artists on Java by asking them to make a local motif in their own style and technique. 

In some regions the traditional pattern is still very clearly found in the Batiks being made. Like the 'Megamendung' from Cirebon. When you spot these abstract clouds on a Batik you can surely say its made in Cirebon. But there are also, maybe most of patterns used today in Batik that changed in location, meaning or evolved into a new pattern. 

One popular motif that is well known outside of Indonesia is the 'Parang' motif. A 'Parang' is a type of knife and the motif is also known as the broken knife pattern. If people here (in the Netherlands) see a 'Parang' motif they will say "That is real Batik!". Even if it is clearly printed. 

The brown and white patterns that is repeated diagonal on the cloths is for most a pattern they would like to wear or at least own a cloth with it. But the thing is with the 'Parang' motif that it use to be exclusive for royalty. The royalty in Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo) had a motif that was only intended for them. In a still closed section of the Kraton (the Sultan Palace) in Yogyakarta you can see these Batiks for the royal family, but it is forbidden to take pictures. 

Later the 'Parang' motif was used by other families to show their wealth an high born status. Different families got there own 'Parang' motifs and today at weddings the families will still wear their owns motif. Everyone will wear the same pattern and its nice if you see pictures of the families standing next to the wedding couple forming almost one repeating pattern together. 

Batik fashion hero Iwan Tirta introduced 'Parang' in the nineties as high fashion. He made dresses and shirts with the motif enlarged on it or mixed between bright flower patterns. Beautiful pieces about which the marketing people writes today: "'Lereng' symbolizes fertility, the desire for prosperity, determination, to have courage to do what is important to both the nation and the people." 

Who doesn't want to get all that from a dress!

At the kraton in Yogyakarta

The motif this post is about is a well known pattern on all of Java. But what the origin of pattern is, is not so clear. 'Kawung' is a Batik motif made mostly in the colours brown, black and white. The patterns is a repetition of oval shaped circles. It is a simplistic pattern, nowadays made with cap, which makes it a very fast pattern as well. If you look closely you can read the pattern in two ways, one of four oval shaped forming a one whole or one circle with a diamond shape in its center. 

It is thought to be a royal motif too. At the kraton in Yogyakarta there is a picture of a woman wearing a sarong with 'Kawung'. The motif is also linked to the Sultanate of Mataram, it was the last major independent Javanese kingdom before the island was colonised by the Dutch. Yet 'Kawung' i found on temples from the 13th century on Java. So it much be older. 

When I travelled on Java in 2009 I would ask at ever Batik shop: What pattern is typical for here? And without doubt they would pull out the 'Kawung' pattern. I don't know if it is because they thought it is typical for their city or that it merely the most popular motif. But it surprised me and made me wonder about this pattern. 

'Kawung' was being made everywhere I went. I spotted it in Yogyakarta, Solo, Pekalongan and Semarang. It was used traditionally as one pattern covering the cloth or to fill up parts in the design. 

in Pekalongan

In Yogyakarta, Kawung made with cap

In Semarang

The 'Kawung' motif symbolizes four abilities one must possess to be a good person. They are represented both in the motif and in the use of colour. The colours stand for character traits, but also for the wind directions. Like a moral compass. The shape that is repeated is also like a compass, a wind rose even, and it would explain why I'm fond of this pattern. 

Putih, the colour black or blue is the North. It stands for tranquility, peace, firmness and also for being bold.

Hitam, the colour white is the East where the Sunsets. Its a new beginning and stands for purity and honesty.

Merah, the colour red or brown is the South. It stands for strength and also anger. 

Kuning, the colour yellow, is the West. The full circle is made, grace and knowledge are on your side.

This four points of the 'Kawung' pattern explain that you live your life meaningful and even tells you, you are the perfect man. Even a god. It is thought to be a pattern of the times that sultans were representatives of the gods and therefor were gods themselves. 

But it is not necessary a motif for demigods. It can just represent the way you have to live. Also the making of the motif could have been part of reaching for the devine. When this pattern was first being made on a cloth, it wasn't made with cap but with canting. If you have to repeat the same pattern over and over, you will go through the different stages as mentioned in the description of the colours. The four abilities or character traits. You will have to stay focussed, have to make it neatly. You have to be patient, but you will get overwhelmed, maybe even exhausted or angry. But as you get closer to reaching the end you will enjoy this victory, calm and with a little smile. And the final cloth will be proof you possess all four. 

In Pekalongan, Batik with 'Kawung' together with 'Parang'

Also in Yogyakarta

But how did they come up with the 'Kawung'? For this question are also many answers. First there is the name 'Kawung'. It could have been taken from 'Kwangwung'. A 'Kwangwung' is a Rhinoceros beetle. This kind has a black head with the typical rhino-horn on it and a nice shiny brown body that is oval shaped. They are very popular on many places in Asia and used for gambling fights. Since the male Rhinoceros beetles naturally have the tendency to fight each other for the attention of females, they are the ones used for battle. But is this angry, little, fighting beetle the base for the 'Kawung' motif?
Another one is that the ovals are abstract leaves of the Lotus or the scale of a fish, but in my opinion that is just to easy.
The one I really like is the fruit of the Sugar Palm, or Enau, or Arenga pinnata. If you split open the 'buah kolang-kaling' it will show the white sweet soft fruits, protected by a yellow skin and surrounded by a brown bark. How it is shaped is very close to the 'Kawung motif' and would give also a nice extra explanation of its meaning.
The sweet core is hidden by a thick, hard layer. Showing sweetness, friendliness comes after the tough, strict approach. Or you have to go through the bad before reaching the good. Also the whole Sugar Palm is useful and the fruits gives fortune. So not a bad fruit to put on your cloths.

Clockwise: Shibori workshop in Rotterdam (photo from Facebook), Sashiko on Google, Tiles at Mariaplaats in Utrecht (NL),  Stained-glass-window at Castle de Haar designed by Pierre Cuypers, African Kaftan at TropenMuseum in Amsterdam (NL), fruit of a Sugar Palm

But there is more to 'Kawung'.
This motif is not only a motif in Batik, but in many different art forms. It is not called 'Kawung', yet the pattern is the same. I started spotting 'Kawung' in African and Japanese cloths, in tiles and even in bricks walls. I realized that the motif is maybe not designed, but maybe just a logical result of technique. And properly not the canting technique of Batik. I realized this when I saw a picture of a Shibori workshop. The cloth was put folded and bound into an Indigo dye. When it was unfolded a perfect 'Kawung' pattern in Indigo was visible on the cloth.
There is a logic in the pattern that makes it easy to get invented. It happens by placing bricks or tiles in a certain way. It happens when a suface is divided in a certain way and it happens when a cloth is folded in a certain way. Patterns are based on natural phenomena and natural phenomena form the base of ever pattern. So another nice one for the Pattern vs. Technique debate and a quest for answers during my stay on Java. later this year.

If you have a nice theory to add about 'Kawung', please feel free to share it in a comment below this post!

Read more:

- 'Indonesian Batik Motif - Kawung Motif' on artscraftindonesia.com

- 'Batik Kawung' on batikdan.blogspot.nl (in Bahasa Indonesia)

- Previous blogpost 'Water lilies & table linen' on De reis naar Batik in which the lotus, or Water Lily is drawn as a 'Kawung'-like pattern

Notes:

* 'Lereng Parang Kupu Teksing' by Iwan Tirta on iwantirtabatik.com

** all photos of 'Batik Kawung' are made by my during my first 'Journey to Batik' in 2009