Preamble
Preamble
For your interest, I have listed below, other posts on this blogspot that centers on the use of Batik to create artworks:
Nothing Is The Same I & II (Els van Baarle, The Netherlands)
Batik ArtCloth from South-East Asia
Batiks from Kintore
Batiks From Warlpiri
Historical Israeli Batik ArtWorks
A Brief History of Batik
A History of Javanese Batik - Hindu Influence
A History of Javanese Batik - Islamic Influence
A History of Javanese Batik - Islamic Influence [1]
The start of Islam is marked in the year 610, following the first revelation to the prophet Muhammad at the age of 40. Muhammad and his followers spread the teachings of Islam throughout the Arabian peninsula. Around 1500 AD. the Hindu culture was replaced by the rise of Islam. Mohammedan traders from Arabia also brought Islamic preachers. Islamic tradition or Hadiths, the stories of the words and actions of Muhammad and his Companions, prohibits images of Allah, Muhammad and all the major prophets of the Christian and Jewish traditions. More widely, Islamic tradition has also discouraged the figurative depiction of living creatures, especially human beings. As a result, most of the graphic arts were deprived of a considerable source on inspiration. Sculpture, for example, which had previously created magnificant reliefs of human and god forms to decorate Hindu temples, went into decline.
Relief on Candi (temple) Mendut in Central Java from the Hindu-Javanese period, during which sculpture reached a high level of development. Later due to the Islamic tradition of discouraging figurative depiction of living creatures, such sculptures were no longer in vogue.
On the other hand the craft of batik experienced a highlight in its development in this Islamic period. Two reasons may be given for this: firstly, batik did not serve any religious purpose, and secondly, in the batik a method was found getting arround the rule forbidding the depiction of life forms by stylising the motifs (hindu) and by using geometric figures (Islam). In this manner both influences combined in the craft of batik.
Developed in the 18th century, during the Yogyakarta Sultanate, kawung was considered a favorite among the royal families of the Sultanate. Its geometrical patterns represent the fruit of an areca palm tree. In Indonesian, these fruits are called kolang kaling, a delicacy mostly enjoyed during Ramadan. Legend has it that the royal family of Yogyakarta Sultanate loved kawung so much that only those having the royal bloodline were allowed to wear it.
Another geometric batik pattern is parang, which has long, narrow symbols similar to a sword or the letter “S”. This sacred batik originated in the 16th century, in Central Java, during the reign of Sultan Agung of Mataram. It is said that Danang Sutawijaya, the son of Ki Ageng Pemanahan, created parang while observing a stretch of jagged rocks on the south coast. There’s also Indonesian folklore about a Javanese Prince named Panji, who was protected because he was wearing parang batik. This is why many Javanese people regard parang as a symbol of protection and security.
In 1575 the great Mohammedan empire Mataram was founded in Central Java. In the 'kratons', the residences of rulers, batiking continued to be done by women. Until 1600 blue indigo was exclusively for dyeing.
Blue indigo batik.
Truntum, a popular type of batik from Solo, was created by Kanjeng Ratu Kencana, the daughter of Sunan Pakubuwana III. People believe that the Queen, saddened by the King’s infidelity, made these star patterns while gazing at the night sky. Impressed by the motif, the King admired his wife‘s diligence. His love for the Queen rekindled and he reconciled with her. This legend popularized truntum as a symbol of reawakened love, making it a favorite among brides and grooms.
Truntum.
Then in the 17th and 18th centuries brown soga dyeing developed which considerably contributed to the full development of the batik craft.
18th Century, Soga dyed fabric.
Together with the white of the material and the blue indigo color, a color combination was produced which was typical for Central Java. This color combination has been retained even today in the former kingdoms of Surakarta (Solo) and Yogyakarta, into which Mataram later disintegrated. For various reasons, brighter color combinations developed on the north coast and in the west of Java. At this time there were already a number of motifs which were exclusively reserved for the court, by princely decree. Later this became unwritten law.
Reference:
[1] M. Spée, Traditional and Modern Batik, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst (1982).
Preamble
For your interest, I have listed below, other posts on this blogspot that centers on the use of Batik to create artworks:
Nothing Is The Same I & II (Els van Baarle, The Netherlands)
Batik ArtCloth from South-East Asia
Batiks from Kintore
Batiks From Warlpiri
Historical Israeli Batik ArtWorks
A Brief History of Batik
A History of Javanese Batik - Hindu Influence
A History of Javanese Batik - Islamic Influence
A History of Javanese Batik - Islamic Influence [1]
The start of Islam is marked in the year 610, following the first revelation to the prophet Muhammad at the age of 40. Muhammad and his followers spread the teachings of Islam throughout the Arabian peninsula. Around 1500 AD. the Hindu culture was replaced by the rise of Islam. Mohammedan traders from Arabia also brought Islamic preachers. Islamic tradition or Hadiths, the stories of the words and actions of Muhammad and his Companions, prohibits images of Allah, Muhammad and all the major prophets of the Christian and Jewish traditions. More widely, Islamic tradition has also discouraged the figurative depiction of living creatures, especially human beings. As a result, most of the graphic arts were deprived of a considerable source on inspiration. Sculpture, for example, which had previously created magnificant reliefs of human and god forms to decorate Hindu temples, went into decline.
On the other hand the craft of batik experienced a highlight in its development in this Islamic period. Two reasons may be given for this: firstly, batik did not serve any religious purpose, and secondly, in the batik a method was found getting arround the rule forbidding the depiction of life forms by stylising the motifs (hindu) and by using geometric figures (Islam). In this manner both influences combined in the craft of batik.
In 1575 the great Mohammedan empire Mataram was founded in Central Java. In the 'kratons', the residences of rulers, batiking continued to be done by women. Until 1600 blue indigo was exclusively for dyeing.
Truntum, a popular type of batik from Solo, was created by Kanjeng Ratu Kencana, the daughter of Sunan Pakubuwana III. People believe that the Queen, saddened by the King’s infidelity, made these star patterns while gazing at the night sky. Impressed by the motif, the King admired his wife‘s diligence. His love for the Queen rekindled and he reconciled with her. This legend popularized truntum as a symbol of reawakened love, making it a favorite among brides and grooms.
Then in the 17th and 18th centuries brown soga dyeing developed which considerably contributed to the full development of the batik craft.
Together with the white of the material and the blue indigo color, a color combination was produced which was typical for Central Java. This color combination has been retained even today in the former kingdoms of Surakarta (Solo) and Yogyakarta, into which Mataram later disintegrated. For various reasons, brighter color combinations developed on the north coast and in the west of Java. At this time there were already a number of motifs which were exclusively reserved for the court, by princely decree. Later this became unwritten law.
Reference:
[1] M. Spée, Traditional and Modern Batik, Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst (1982).
