Woman's Hip Wrapper (Sarung), 1937-1942
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist (batik) on machine-woven cotton, synthetic dyes, waxed and stamped signature, 42 1/4 x 83 1/2 in. (107.3 x 212.1 cm)
Inger McCabe Elliott Collection (M.91.184.483)
This is an example of a cloth produced by van Zuylen for a Peranakan wearer and not for her earlier affluent Dutch and Indo-European clientele, who by the late 1930s would have preferred a Japanese kimono or long housedress for domestic use. The flowers, recognizably European, are a mixture of spring and summer bloomers, suggesting that their symbolic meanings had become rather muddled or were of little import by this late date. The pastel palette was the result of adjusment for the tastes of Peranakan women of mature years, to whom the daffodils would have appeared as orchids, emblem of beaty and refinement, and the roses as peonies. As always, a recognizable van Zuylen batik carried a certain fashionable cachet.
Woman's Hip Wrapper (Kain Panjang), circa 1910-circa 1920
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist (batik) on machine-woven cotton, natural dyes, waxed signature, 42 1/4 x 103 7/8 in. (107.2 x 264 cm)
Inger McCabe Elliott Collection (M.91.184.131)
During the early twentieth century elegant, affluent, and mature European, Indo-European, and Peranakan women, all belonging to the elites, started wearing the dressier, more formal kain panjang as an alternative to the sarung. While the Dutch and upper-class Indo-European would only use such batiks as housewear, the Peranakan women would also appear in them at family gatherings. For the lower echelons of Indo-Europeans this highly priced cloth would have been out of reach. The fashionable plain background was particulary appealing. The flowers, whether seen as poppies or peonies, indicate summer. Swallows, dragonflies, and butterflies evoke marital happiness and prosperity. The recognizable style of this “panselen” (a local pronunciation of van Zuylen) batik its owner high status.
Woman's Hip Wrapper (Sarung), circa 1900-circa 1910
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist (batik) on machine-woven cotton, natural dyes, stamped signature, 41 1/2 x 83 in. (105.4 x 210.8 cm)
Inger McCabe Elliott Collection (M.91.184.555)
The style and color scheme of this exquisite cloth made it suitable for young married Indo-European women. the crysanthemums, Chinese emblem of autumn and, hence, middle age, also made it appropriate for affluent Peranakan matrons, who generally used lighter colors than was customary for Europeans and Indo-Europeans of the same age group. Van Zuylen numbered all three among her customers during the period this batik was made.
Woman's Hip Wrapper (Sarung), circa 1900-circa 1910
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist (batik) on machine-woven cotton, natural dyes, waxed and stamped signature, 41 7/8 x 79 1/2 in. (106.4 x 201.9 cm)
Inger McCabe Elliott Collection (M.91.184.423)
These colors, in a combination appealing to European taste, make this cloth suitable for young married Indo-European women. flowers are universally related to women, through each ethnic group has its own symbolic concepts. To Europeans the carnation expresses delicacy, while the lily is an emblem of purity. According to Chinese and Peranakan views the peony is a symbol of mature feminine beauty; hummingbirds nipping at flowers represents males attracted by women; swallows announces the return of summer’s heat. The universality of these symbols might have made this cloth appropriate as an emblem of status by a Peranakan woman who wanted to affiliate herself with the Dutch.
Woman's Hip Wrapper (Sarung), circa 1900-circa 1910
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist (batik) on machine-woven cotton, natural dyes, waxed and stamped signatures, 41 x 85 in. (104.1 x 215.8 cm)
Inger McCabe Elliott Collection (M.91.184.134)
This flawless and very expensive piece, through its multiple colors and choice of summer flowers, depicts the high season of life and is therefore suited for a middle-aged Indo-European of Peranakan woman of ample means. Through the flowers are European, they are depicted rather vaguely, so they may be identified as peonies or carnations, flowers closer to the hearts of the second group.
Woman's Hip Wrapper (Sarung Kelengan), circa 1900-circa 1910
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist (batik) on machine-woven cotton, natural dyes, waxed signature, 42 1/2 x 76 1/2 in. (108 x 194.3 cm)
Inger McCabe Elliott Collection (M.91.184.269)
This finely hand-sewn kelengan cloth was like used by an Indo-European bride on her wedding night. The fragrant canations in full bloom refer to the bride, Prince Charming and Cinderella to the bridal couple, and the mingling stems to their marriage. The sprinkling of small flowers evokes the fragrance of melati blossom. Obviously, through the blue-and-white color combination was considered suitable to the occasion, the design was not appropriate for a Peranakan mourning cloth.
Woman's Hip Wrapper (Sarung Kelengan Dlorong Buketan, Sarung Porselen), circa 1900
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist (batik) on machine-woven cotton, natural dyes, waxed signature, 43 x 87 1/2 in. (109.2 x 222.3 cm)
Inger McCabe Elliott Collection (M.91.184.473)
This kelengan batik with its summery flowers could have been worn by an Indo-European bride on her wedding night, it might also have served as Peranakan mourning dress. This was made possible by the double meander, reminiscent of the fu, one of twelve auspicious Chinese ornaments. Furthermore, the motif gives strong intimations of the protective banji motif. The kemuning flowers in the lower border are used both to ornament the hair of a married woman and in garlands covering a bier. The fine shades of blue, which evoke for the Peranakan community blue-and-white Ming Porcelains, gave the cloth its additional name, kain porselen. The Dutch associated these colors with Delft blue plates.
Woman's Hip Wrapper (Kain Panjang), circa 1900
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist on machine-woven cotton, natural dyes, waxed and stamped signature, 42 7/8 x 92 1/8 in. (109 x 234 cm)
Costume Council and Museum Associates Fund (M.77.121)
The fairy tale about the little girl who is sent into the forest, where her excess of trust results in her being gobbled up by a wolf, then rescued by a hunter, represents a kind of female initiatio myth. Similar stories about the adventures of young heroines that end happily through the intervention of heroes abound in Java. The Western tale was thus comprehensible to a wide audience, explaining why this type of batik was so popular. The cloth could be given as a present to a young woman, thereby expressing hopes for her to succeed in contracting a happy marriage. The use of the apotropaic gigi walang (cricket’s teeth) in the borders was probably not merely a decorative device in the original design, while the use of a broad range of dyes, resembling multicolored ceremonial textiles may also indicate the almost ritualistic importance of this cloth.
Lies van Zuylen copied the designs of the other batik businesswomen but produced her own creations as well. Art nouveau patterns of wading birds combined with an asymmetrical tree appeared in the badan, and after this achieved some success, it evolved into an asymmetrical wisteria tree under which two peacocks shelter. She then repeated the pattern from the badan on the kepala. Around 1910 this in turn became a bouquet of assorted flowers. Van Zuylen’s bouquet became the trademark of batik Pekalongan and was copied along the entire north coast.
Due to her personal popularity and the fact that she catered to the only clientele, the Peranakan, still be able to afford expensive batik, Van Zuylen was the sole Indo-European batik entrepreneur to survive the economic crisis of 1935, the worst year of the Depression in Java. The Peranakan preferred the bright colors obtained from synthetic dyes, which forced Van Zuylen to abandon vegetable dyes for synthetics. Her purple was a water-soluble aniline mixture; the bright red on some of her earlier batiks is synthetic as well (Veldhuisen, 1993). In 1935 her son George, a chemist, assumed supervision of the dyeing process, using synthetics.
Van Zuylen signed her batiks, “E v Zuylen.” Many were stamped “Batikkerij {batik workshop}/Mevr. E. van Zuylen/Pekalongan.” Since many of her batik makers worked in their own homes, especially during peak periods, this oval ink stamp represented a security measure, effectively preventing the sale of unfinished batiks to third parties. Today the stamp proves a batik is an original Van Zuylen despite the often badly drawn signatures and work less perfect than that usually associated with her shop. Poor workmanship typifies peak-season batiks that were not made under her personal supervision. She herself was a noted perfectionist.
From 1937 on, assigned pattern numbers were applied directly with the canting to each batik to facilitate reordering by customers. (Formerly paper labels had been used). After 1940 Van Zuylen’s signature was eliminated when she had problems drawing with pencil on fabric. Her signature was being faked by other entrepreneurs in any case, and her devoted clients could recognized a real Val Zuylen even without signature.
During the Japanese occupation of Java Van Zuylen’s batik obi for Japanese women and kain panjang pagi sore were ordered by high-ranking Japanese military personnel. These differed from those she had made previously, having far more crowded backgrounds and many tiny motifs in the patterns. The result is so over-crowded that the bouquets are difficult to discern.
Source: Batik from the North Coast of Java.
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