Sarong w/images of Japanese Geishas

Title
Sarong w/images of Japanese Geishas
Year/Period
1910 - 1930
Region
Pekalongan, Northern Java
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 105.2 x 101.4 cm
Accession No.
2013-00402

This unusually decorated sarong with images of a pair of Japanese "geisha" drawn in typical Pekalongan style would have appealed to the popular culture of the 1920s and early 30s era Dutch East Indies when 'Japanoisirie' was quite the rage. Period photos show both Dutch and mixed Indo-Dutch women and men wearing kimonos. In addition, Japanese decorative elements crept into the households of wealthier elites. It’s likely though that looming war clouds did away with this fad in the late 1930s.