3 Sarong kelengan, signed “wed: J. Jans Pekalongan”, made in Mrs J. Jans’ workshop (ca. 1850–ca. 1920), ca. 1885–1900.
Among the Chinese Peranakan of the Pesisir area, blue and white batik (kain kelengan) used to be worn during a period of mourning. In some families, a bride would also wear a sarong with this range of colors to indicate her sorrow at leaving her parents’ house. At the same time, a wedding was a joyful occasion, therefore on the badan, bouquets of lilies and Lenten roses are interspaced with floating baskets of flowers, birds and butterflies. On the kepala, the joyful atmosphere has been further enhanced with a centrally positioned bouquet of roses and baskets of carnations, surrounded by the graceful stems of jasmine.
4 Sarong buketan, signed “J. Jans”, made in Mrs J. Jans’ workshop (ca. 1850–ca. 1920), Pekalongan, probably after 1900.
This sarong derives its name from the floral bouquets (buketan; boeket in Dutch) that are evenly arrayed along the badan and kepala, a tribute to the beauty of tiger lilies. Four elaborate bouquets of tiger lilies decorate the badan, while the same arrangement, presented as a mirror image, dominates the kepala.
5 Sarong, signed “wed Jans–Pekalongan”, made in Mrs J. Jans’ workshop (ca. 1850–ca. 1920), ca. 1885–1900.
This sarong has been dyed with typical colors of the Pesisir area—indigo blue, made from the leaves of the indigo plant (Indigo tinctoria), and a deep turkey red called mengkudu, produced from the bark of the roots of Morinda citrifolia— with each color executed in at least two hues of varied intensity. The main feature of the badan is a garland of flowers that runs down each side of the kepala and along the lower edge of the cloth, while the background has been covered with hundreds of stylized jasmine flowers spaced at regular intervals. The kepala presents a large bouquet of Margaret flowers, a common species of daisy, and fuchsia.
6 Sarong, Pesisir area, second half 19th century.
Around 1860, batik sarongs decorated with poems in the Malay language became popular on the north coast of Java. As this cloth indicates, the text and the iconography did not always complement each other. The poem shown on this sarong, written by a man (see the original and the translation on page 174), mentions a farewell and parting with a loved one, while the diagonal bands separating the lines of the poem feature romantic and happy scenes, suggestive of an engagement and marriage. The bands depict a man presenting flowers to a young woman and there is a large music band and horse-drawn carriages. Numerous bouquets of flowers enhance the celebratory atmosphere.
7 Sarong, signed “Drinhuijzen Pek”, made in the Drinhuijzen workshop, Pekalongan, 1890s.
The Drinhuijzen workshop was active in the 1870s to 1890s. On this sarong, scattered groups of cornflowers decorate the badan, while the kepala features smaller blossoms on a background covered with a multitude of tiny, stylized jasmine blossoms.
8 Sarong dlorong buketan, signed Mrs “L. Metz Pek”, made by Mrs Lien Metzelaar (ca. 1855–1930), Pekalongan, ca. 1890–1900.
Mrs Lien Metzelaar ran a well-known batik workshop in Pekalongan between 1880 and 1919, the heyday of Indische or Indo-European batik. She frequently signed her batik “L. Metz Pek”. Between 1890 and 1900, she produced a series of batik sarongs that combined colors and designs typical of two major batik centers of Java—a warm brown and mengkudu red from the Pesisir area. The badan on this sarong has been decorated with a dlorong design composed of alternating diagonal bands filled with a hook-like motif on a cream ground, typical of the Priangan area of West Java where it is known as rereng, and rows of ornate leaves on an indigo ground. The kepala has been decorated with a bouquet of carnations.
9 Sarong, signed “L Metz Pek”, made by Mrs Lien Metzelaar (ca. 1855–1930), Pekalongan, ca. 1910.
While the kepala of this sarong features a large bouquet of bleeding hearts, the badan has been decorated with bunches of peonies on a background covered with a woven or plaited design. As Mrs Metzelaar used to work with an Arab dealer from Batavia (Jakarta), it is possible that the frequent appearance of woven patterns on her batik reflects the aesthetic preference of Arab Peranakan.
10 Kain buketan, signed “E v Zuylen”, made in Mrs Eliza van Zuylen’s workshop (1863–1947), Pekalongan, ca. 1930.
Because of her lengthy career as a batik entrepreneur, Mrs van Zuylen’s life and work are well documented. All the batik in the van Zuylen compound was decorated by hand (batik tulis) to the highest standards and was distinguished by its large floral bouquets cleanly delineated against solid backgrounds, often in pastel hues, accentuated by simple diagonal lines on the badan. Her floral inspiration was believed to come from Dutch horticulture books. Prior to World War II, kain panjang (long cloths) became popular among some Peranakan. Here, the classic van Zuylen buketan motif of gerbera flowers decorates this new type of wrapped skirt cloth. The dark colors indicate that this cloth was suitable for an older woman.
11 Sarong, signed “E v Zuylen”, made in Mrs Eliza van Zuylen’s workshop (1863–1947), Pekalongan, ca. 1930s.
Motifs of large wading birds and water plants became popular on the north coast of Java in the 1920s and 1930s (see photo page 63). The drawing on the badan of this sarong was executed in a highly simplified way without the usual attention to detail characteristic of van Zuylen batik. It is possible, therefore, that the batik is a forgery that imitates the work of van Zuylen.
12 Sarong buketan, signed “E v Zuylen”, made in Eliza van Zuylen’s (1863–1947) workshop, Pekalongan, ca. 1920–1930.
This batik is an Indo-European (Indische) interpretation of lotuses, which frequently decorate Lasem batik made in Chinese workshops. While the flowers are usually presented on an undyed cream background in Lasem, here the background is a deep red. The use of lotus flowers indicates that the sarong was meant for a Chinese Peranakan woman.
13 Sarong buketan, signed “E v Zuylen”, made in Eliza van Zuylen’s (1863–1947) workshop, Pekalongan, ca. 1900.
The dark, subdued colors of this sarong and its restrained decoration, with the kepala filled with abstract, geometric motifs and the badan bearing four elegant bouquets against a background grid of simple dots, would have appealed to affluent