The culture of wearing batik cloth in Java, was born from the palace environment which 'completes' it with a philosophy of life: a blend of matra, art, customs, outlook on life, and personality. In short, batik was born not just a commercial object, but is a part of life.

Over time, the beauty of batik began to glimpse its potential as a commercial object. The word 'batick' itself was already mentioned as an exported item in a shipping manifest from Batavia in 1641. The beauty of batik cloth was heard in Europe and attempts to imitate this dyeing process were fruitless. Batik from Indonesia is still the best.

“Rintang” dyeing technique, is not an original Indonesian technique. This technique has been used in Egypt, China, Japan, India, West Africa, Central Asia, and even in Indonesia itself such as West Java (simbut cloth) and Toraja (ma'a cloth). However, the dyeing technique that produced the batik cloth we know today, namely the rintang dyeing technique using written canting or canting stamp with hot wax, is a technique that later developed and reached the peak of its glory in Java.

Nowadays batik is a representation of a traditional heritage, often having the opposite impression of modernity (progress). While progress almost always has an impact on the decay of traditions. It is Indonesia's obligation to protect 'batik' from the changing times and maintain the essence of a piece of cloth which has this philosophy.

BATIK DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE IN INDONESIA

Taken from "Indonesian Batik" owned by the Indonesian Batik Foundation

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