Kain panjang

Title
Kain panjang
Year/Period
1959–65
Region
Pekalongan, north-coast Java
Technique
Dimension
Gross measurement: 106 x 248 cm
Accession No.
2017-00397
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Ika, Melia, and Inge Hendromartono in memory of their parents Liem Siok Hien and Jane Hendromartono, grandmother Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing, and great grandmother Nyonya Oeij Soen King

The decoration on this teal kain panjang is limited to the sides of the batik. Nonetheless, the artist used intricate filler motifs, such as squares, circles and stars within each main motif to enhance the overall design of the flowers and plant forms. This batik is part of a large group donated to the museum by the descendants of three generations of female batik makers from Pekalongan. It was made by the mother of the donors, Jane Hendromartono, the last of the three generations. Jane Hendromartono came from a family of batik makers in Pekalongan. She used many names in her lifetime. Her first batiks were created under her mother’s name, Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing (1895–1966). She began using her husband’s name, Liem Siok Hien, in 1947. From 1967 her works were marketed as Hendromartono’s Batik Art “Unique”, using her husband’s new Indonesian family name. She rarely repeated designs, and her highly individualistic style and inventive use of colour made her batiks popular at home and abroad.