SUSETYO WASHID Y.

(003)ABDUL RAHMAN IKBAR

A. Definition of Batik
Batik word derived from the syllable Ambatik , the word "Amba" (language java)
which means writing and the "Tik" which a means a small point, droplets, or make a
point. So, Batik is to write or paint point. In general, Batik is a resist technique with
color repeatedly wax on the cloth. Candles are used as a barrier to prevent the color
does not absorb into the fiber fabric in the desired parts. Batik is a painting on cloth that
is used as an ingredient clothing manufacture base. At first, Batik is known only and
should only be used by people who have positions/rank in the Palace (Keraton). Batik is
made up of various motifs and each motif is the symbol for the wearer , such as
machetes and motives kawung which should only be worn by the royal family. On
development, Batik spread to the general public. In addition, an art expert seggested that
the art of Batik Indonesia is the result of the high cultural value. Because it is enhanced
and developed appropriate.
In Indonesia, Batik is known since ancient kingdom of Majapahit, then spread to
other kingdoms, and passed down to subsequent generations of kings. At first known
batik is Batik tulis. Batik is made with a backing material that was originally also woven
itself. Coloring materials used are dyes taken from nature in the local area (tree noni,
tinggi, soga, tilapia, etc). The process of making batik is very old, the fastest time-
consuming two weeks if the weather is nice and professional batik.
Batik has become a popular and used by the public at the beggining of the 19th
century. All known types of batik is still a batik tulis. After the year 1920 masehi
becoming known batik (batik cetak). The time needed to make a batik cetak faster.
Within one week to complete a batiks.
B. a Brief History
Although experts disagree as to the precise origins of batik, samples of dye
resistance patterns on cloth can be traced back 1,500 years ago to Egypt and the Middle
East. Samples have also been found in Turkey, India, China, Japan and West Africa
from past centuries. Although in these countries people were using the technique of dye
resisting decoration, within the textile realm, none have developed batik to its present
day art form as the highly developed intricate batik found on the island of Java in
Indonesia.
Although there is mention of 'fabrics highly decorated' in Dutch transcripts from the
17th century, most scholars believe that the intricate Javanese batik designs would only
have been possible after the importation of finely woven imported cloth, which was first
imported to Indonesia from India around the 1800s and afterwards from Europe
beginning in 1815. Textile patterns can be seen on stone statues that are carved on the
walls of ancient Javanese temples such as Prambanan (AD 800), however there is no
conclusive evidence that the cloth is batik. It could possibly be a pattern that was
produced with weaving techniques and not dying. What is clear is that in the 19th
century batik became highly developed and was well ingrained in Javanese cultural life.
Some experts feel that batik was originally reserved as an art form for Javanese
royalty. Certainly it's royal nature was clear as certain patterns were reserved to be worn
only by royalty from the Sultan's palace. Princesses and noble women may have
provided the inspiration for the highly refined design sense evident in traditional
patterns. It is highly unlikely though that they would be involved in any more than the
first wax application. Most likely, the messy work of dyeing and subsequent waxings
was left to court artisans who would work under their supervision.
Javanese royalty were known to be great patrons of the arts and provided the support
necessary to develop many art forms, such as silver ornamentation, wayang
kulit (leather puppets) and gamelan orchestras. In some cases the art forms overlap. The
Javanese dalang (puppeteer) not only was responsible for the wayang puppets but was
also an important source of batik patterns. Wayang puppets are usually made of goat
skin, which is then perforated and painted to create the illusion of clothing on the
puppet. Used puppets were often sold to eager ladies who used the puppets as guides for
their batik patterns. They would blow charcoal through the holes that define the patterns
of clothing on the puppets, in order to copy the intricate designs onto the cloth.
Other scholars disagree that batik was only reserved as an art form for royalty, as
they also feel its use was prevalent with the rakyat, the people. It was regarded an
important part of a young ladies accomplishment that she be capable of handling
a canting (the pen-like instrument used to apply wax to the cloth) with a reasonable
amount of skill, certainly as important as cookery and other housewifery arts to Central
Javanese women.
C. Batik Design Tools and Design Process
1. Batik Design Tools
Although the art form of batik is very intricate, the tools that are used are still very
simple. The canting, believed to be a purely Javanese invention, is a small thin wall
spouted copper container (sometimes called a wax pen) that is connected to a short
bamboo handle. Normally it is approximately 11 cm. in length. The copper container is
filled with melted wax and the artisan then uses the canting to draw the design on the
cloth.
Canting have different sizes of spouts (numbered to correspond to the size) to achieve
varied design effects. The spout can vary from 1 mm in diameter for very fine detailed
work to wider spouts used to fill in large design areas. Dots and parallel lines may be
drawn with canting that have up to 9 spouts. Sometimes a wad of cotton is fastened over
the mouth of the canting or attached to a stick that acts as a brush to fill in very large
areas.
a. Wajan
The wajan is the container that holds the melted wax. It looks like a small wok.
Normally it is made of iron or earthenware. The wajan is placed on a small brick
charcoal stove or a spirit burner called an 'anglo'. The wax is kept in a melted state
while the artisan is applying the wax to the cloth.
 b. Wax
Different kinds and qualities of wax are used in batik. Common waxes used for batik
consist of a mixture of beeswax, used for its malleability, and paraffin, used for its
friability. Resins can be added to increase adhesiveness and animal fats create greater
liquidity.
The best waxes are from the Indonesian islands of Timor, Sumbawa and Sumatra; three
types of petroleum-based paraffin (white, yellow and black) are used. The amounts
mixed are measured in grams and vary according to the design. Wax recipes can be very
closely guarded secrets. Varying colors of wax make it possible to disguise different
parts of the pattern through the various dying stages. Larger areas of the pattern are
filled in with wax that is cheaper quality and the higher quality wax is used on the more
intricately detailed sections of the design.
The wax must be kept at the proper temperature. A wax that is too cool will clog the
spout of the canting. A wax that is too hot will flow too quickly and be uncontrollable.
The artisan will often blow into the spout of the canting before applying wax to the
cloth in order to clear the canting of any obstructions.
c. Cap
Creating batik is a very time consuming craft. To meet growing demands and make the
fabric more affordable to the masses, in the mid-19th century the . cap. (copper stamp -
pronounced chop) was developed. This invention enabled a higher volume of batik
production compared to the traditional method which entailed the tedious application of
wax by hand with a canting.
Each cap is a copper block that makes up a design unit. Cap are made of 1.5 cm wide
copper stripes that are bent into the shape of the design. Smaller pieces of wire are used
for the dots. When complete, the pattern of copper strips is attached to the handle.
The cap must be precisely made. This is especially true if the pattern is to be stamped
on both sides of the fabric. It is imperative that both sides of the cap are identical so that
pattern will be consistent.
Sometimes cap are welded between two grids like pieces of copper that will make a
base for the top and the bottom. The block is cut in half at the center so the pattern on
each half is identical. Cap vary in size and shape depending on the pattern they are
needed for. It is seldom that a cap will exceed 24 cm in diameter, as this would make
the handling too difficult.
Men usually handle the application of wax using cap. A piece of cloth that involves a
complicated design could require as many as ten sets of cap. The usage of cap, as
opposed to canting, to apply the wax has reduced the amount of time to make a cloth.
Today, batik quality is defined by cap or tulis, the second meaning hand-drawn designs
which use a canting, or kombinasi, a combination of the two techniques.
d. Dyes
Traditional colors for Central Javanese batik were made from natural ingredients and
consisted primarily of beige, blue, brown and black.
The oldest color that was used in traditional batik making was blue. The color was made
from the leaves of the Indigo plant. The leaves were mixed with molasses sugar and
lime and left to stand overnight. Sometimes sap from the Tinggi tree was added to act as
a fixing agent. Lighter blue was achieved by leaving the cloth in the dye bath for short
periods of time. For darker colors, the cloth would be left in the dye bath for days and
may have been submerged up to 8 - 10 times a day.
In traditional batik, the second color applied was a brown color called soga. The color
could range from light yellow to a dark brown. The dye came from the bark of the Soga
tree. Another color that was traditionally used was a dark red color called mengkuda.
This dye was created from the leaves of the Morinda Citrifolia.
The final hue depended on how long the cloth was soaked in the dye bath and how often
it was dipped. Skilled artisans can create many variations of these traditional colors.
Aside from blue, green would be achieved by mixing blue with yellow; purple was
obtained by mixing blue and red. The soga brown color mixed with indigo would
produce a dark blue-black color.
2. Design Process
The outline of the pattern is blocked out onto the cloth, traditionally with charcoal or
graphite. Traditional batik designs utilize patterns handed down over the generations. It
is very seldom that an artisan is so skilled that he can work from memory and would not
need to draw an outline of the pattern before applying the wax. Often designs are traced
from stencils or patterns called pola. Another method of tracing a pattern onto a cloth is
by laying the cloth on a glass table that is illuminated from below which casts a shadow
of the pattern onto the cloth. The shadow is then traced with a pencil. In large batik
factories today, men usually are in charge of drawing the patterns onto the cloth.
a. Waxing
Once the design is drawn out onto the cloth it is then ready to be waxed. Wax is applied
to the cloth over the areas of the design that the artisan wishes to remain the original
color of the cloth. Normally this is white or cream.
Female workers sit on a low stool or on a mat to apply the wax with a canting. The
fabric that they are working on is draped over light bamboo frames called gawangan to
allow the freshly applied wax to cool and harden. The wax is heated in the wajan until it
is of the desired consistency. The artisan then dips her canting into the wax to fill the
bowl of the canting.
Artisans use the wax to retrace the pencil outline on the fabric. A small drop cloth is
kept on the woman. s lap to protect her from hot dripping wax. The stem of
the canting is held with the right hand in a horizontal position to prevent any accidental
spillage, which greatly reduces the value of the final cloth. The left hand is placed
behind the fabric for support. The spout does not touch the fabric, but it held just above
the area the artisan is working on. To ensure the pattern is well defined, batik is waxed
on both sides. True tulis batik is reversible, as the pattern should be identical on both
sides.
The most experienced artisans normally do first waxings. Filling in of large areas may
be entrusted to less experienced artisans. Mistakes are very difficult to correct. If wax is
accidentally spilt on the cloth, the artisan will try to remove the unwanted wax by
sponging it with hot water. Then a heated iron rod with a curved end is used to try and
lift off the remaining wax. Spilled wax can never be completely removed so it is
imperative that the artisans are very careful.
If the cap method is utilized, this procedure is normally done by men. The cap are
dipped into melted wax. Just under the surface of the melted wax is a folded cloth
approximately 30 centimeters square. When this cloth is saturated with wax it acts like a
stamp pad. The cap is pressed into the fabric until the design side of the cap is coated
with wax. The saturated cap is then stamped onto the fabric, leaving the design of
the cap. This process is repeated until the entire cloth is covered.
Often cap and canting methods are combined on the same piece of cloth.
Better quality batik may be waxed utilizing canting in one part of Indonesia and then
sent to another part of Indonesia where the cap part of the process is completed. On
better quality cap fabric great care is taken to match the pattern exactly. Lower grade
batik is characterized by overlapping lines or lightened colored lines indicating
the cap was not applied correctly.
b. Dyeing
After the initial wax has been applied, the fabric is ready for the first dye bath.
Traditionally dying was done in earthenware tubs. Today most batik factories use large
concrete vats. Above the vats are ropes with pulleys that the fabric is draped over after it
has been dipped into the dye bath.
The waxed fabric is immersed in the dye bath of the first color. The amount of time it is
left in the bath determines the hue of the color; darker colors require longer periods or
numerous immersions. The fabric is then put into a cold water bath to harden the wax.
When the desired color has been achieved and the fabric has dried, wax is reapplied
over the areas that the artisan wishes to maintain the first dye color or another color at a
later stage in the dying process.
When an area that has been covered with wax previously needs to be exposed so that it
can be dyed, the applied wax is scraped away with a small knife. The area is then
sponged with hot water and resized with rice starch before it is re-immersed in the
subsequent dye bath.
If a marble effect is desired, the wax is intentionally cracked before being placed in the
dye bath. The dye seeps into the tiny cracks that create the fine lines that are
characteristic of batik. Traditionally, cracks were a sign of inferior cloth especially on
indigo color batik. On brown batik, however, the marble effect was accepted.
The number of colors in batik represents how many times it was immersed in the dye
bath and how many times wax had to be applied and removed. A multicolored batik
represents a lot more work that a single or two-color piece. Numerous dye processes are
usually reflected in the price of the cloth. Nowadays, chemical dyes have pretty much
replaced traditional dyes, so colors are endless and much more liberally used.
Although there are thousands of different batik designs, particular designs have
traditionally been associated with traditional festivals and specific religious ceremonies.
Previously, it was thought that certain cloth had mystical powers to ward off ill fortune,
while other pieces could bring good luck. Certain batik designs are reserved for brides
and bridegrooms as well as their families. Other designs are reserved for the Sultan and
his family or their attendants. A person's rank could be determined by the pattern of the
batik he/she wore. In general, there are two categories of batik design: geometric motifs
(which tend to be the earlier designs) and free form designs, which are based on stylized
patterns of natural forms or imitations of a woven texture. Nitik is the most famous
design illustrating this effect. Certain areas are known for a predominance of certain
designs. Central Javanese designs are influenced by traditional patterns and colors.
Batik from the north coast of Java, near Pekalongan and Cirebon, have been greatly
influenced by Chinese culture and effect brighter colors and more intricate flower and
cloud designs.
High fashion designs drawn on silk are very popular with wealthy Indonesians. These
exceptionally high-quality pieces can take months to create and costs hundreds of
dollars.
Kawung
Kawung is another very old design consisting of intersecting circles, known in Java
since at least the thirteenth century. This design has appeared carved into the walls of
many temples throughout Java such as Prambanan near Jogjakarta and Kediri in East
Java. For many years, this pattern was reserved for the royal court of the Sultan of
Jogjakarta. The circles are sometimes embellished inside with two or more small
crosses or other ornaments such as intersecting lines or dots. It has been suggested that
the ovals might represent flora such as the fruit of the kapok (silk cotton) tree or
the aren (sugar palm).

Ceplok
Ceplok is a general name for a whole series of geometric designs based on squares,
rhombs, circles, stars, etc. Although fundamentally geometric, ceplok can also represent
abstractions and stylization of flowers, buds, seeds and even animals. Variations in color
intensity can create illusions of depth and the overall effect is not unlike medallion
patterns seen on Turkish tribal rugs. The Indonesian population is largely Muslim, a
religion that forbids the portrayal of animal and human forms in a realistic manner. To
get around this prohibition, the batik worker does not attempt to express this matter in a
realistic form. A single element of the form is chosen and then that element is repeated
again and again in the pattern.

Parang
Parang was once used exclusively by the royal courts of Central Java. It has several
suggested meanings such as 'rugged rock', 'knife pattern' or 'broken blade'. The Parang
design consists of slanting rows of thick knife-like segments running in parallel
diagonal bands. Parang usually alternated with narrower bands in a darker contrasting
color. These darker bands contain another design element, a line of lozenge-shaped
motifs call mlinjon. There are many variations of this basic striped pattern with its
elegant sweeping lines, with over forty parang designs recorded. The most famous is the
'Parang Rusak' which in its most classical form consisting of rows of softly folded
parang. This motif also appears in media other than batik, including woodcarving and as
ornamentation on gamelan musical instruments.