Hip wrapper, m.91.184.326
Overview
Excerpted from Herina, Rens, and Harmen C. Veldhuisen. Fabric of Enchantment: Batik from the North Coast of Java. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: Weatherhill, Inc., 1996, Catalogue no. 2.
This intricate cloth, even more clearly than the last, shows a division in halves, which is effected through the contrasting colors of the bisected borders and the end sections of the kepala. Three flowering trees of life grow out of mountain-shaped roots on a plain background, mirroring each other vertically on the two halves of the cloth. A single species of flower blooms among the leaves, and small birds flutter among the branches. The trees fill the space in an organized manner, though each is different. Together they give the impression of a traditional, free-flowing floral creeper. The background is sprinkled with a profusion of small ¬kembang jeruk (orange blossoms). The kepala is filled with starflowers, butterflies, and other small insects on the black end section, while the red section is ornamented with starflowers alone; the triangles are alternately blue and cream. As in the previous batik, the motifs and colors of the papan also form a contrast: birds and flowers on cream at one end, flowers on blue at the other. All borders follow the same division, even those along the kepala section. The end borders are unhemmed.
Maker
This batik was made in a Peranakan workshop and exported to Sumatra, where the prada was applied.
Wearer
Batiks such as this sumptuous kain sisihan were used at Javanese and Peranakan weddings as part of the dowry or as a gift from the groom’s family. As the end borders remain unhemmed and the prada is characteristically Sumatran, this particular cloth was probably worn by a Sumatran bride. The rich detail of filler motifs, the vibrant and contrasting use of red, blue, and cream, together with the evocation of the fragrance of orange blossoms and shimmering layer of gold make this cloth fit for a queen. Some of the leaves suggest the symbolically protective centipede, which occurs undisguised in the papan. The myriad fauna that can be glimpsed among the profuse growth are a north coast interpretation of a traditional pattern that forms part of the central Javanese design vocabulary under the name of alas-alasan. Combining all flying, walking, and creeping creatures in nature, it has cosmological overtones.
