This kain panjangs (skirtcloths) belong to the genre now termed batik belanda (Malay for Dutch batik), which adapts European designs for batik designs, and were probably made in Pekalongan, Java, Indonesia. It can also be classified as batik fairytale, a style pioneered by the Eurasian batikmaker Carolina Josephine von Franquemont (1817-1867)(1). This kain panjang features the fairytale of The Little Red Riding Hood, also the most common fairytale depicted for batik. It shows repeated scenes of a young brunette girl in Western dress and a red bonnet carrying a basket and accompanied by a wolf, walking on the grass near a large tree under a sky of birds, butterflies and floral sprays. Made from natural dyes of blue, red and brown, this piece is among the earliest featuring this story, as most pieces were of a later period and made with chemical dyes. Batik belanda was popular with Eurasians in the Dutch East Indies from the mid 19th century, (2) and later with nyonyas as well. They were made mainly between 1840-1940. Peranakan ladies wore batik skirtcloths of two formats: a tubeskirt (kain sarong) or a skirtcloth (kain panjang). These were made mostly by Chinese, Eurasian or Arab batik makers on the north coast of Java (a region known as pasisir) in towns such as Semarang, Lasem, Cirebon, and Pekalongan.
