On the centre of this hanging, a phoenix with exuberant plumage is perched on a knobbly branch. A variant of the parang design, an ancient motif that was reserved for the exclusive use by the Central Javanese courts, frames this central design. At the four corners of this batik, a pair of wings resembling the sawat motif, possibly symbolising the mythical garuda, is depicted. 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.
