Pesisir Batik (Batavia)

Indonesia, Java, Batavia (Jakarta)
Woman’s Hip Wrapper (Sarung Bang-Bangan), circa 1870-circa 1880
Textile, Hand-drawn wax resist (batik) on machine-woven cotton, natural dyes, 41 1/4 x 82 3/8 in. (104.8 x 209.3 cm)
Inger McCabe Elliott Collection (M.91.184.22)

This cloth was probably meant for a marriageable girl of mixed European-Javanese descent, who, like a chicken in a coop (Ayam Puger), was confined inside the walls of her father’s compound. This custom was widely followed among affluent families as late as the early tweentieth century (Jacquet, 1987).

Jacquet, F.G.P. (1987). Kartini: Brieven aan Mevrouw Abendanon-Mandri. (Dordrecht: Foris).