This brown and cream skirt cloth, or kain panjang, comprises of alternating diagonal bands of a parang rusak pattern and a stylized garuda pattern; both common central Javanese court motifs. This pattern is a reinterpretation of the classic parang rusak pattern, that was once restricted to Javanese royalty. The piece was created by Go Tik Swan Panembahan Hardjonagoro. An Indonesian of Chinese descent from Surakarta, he is credited for the post-war renaissance of the batik. Tasked by President Soekarno to create a national batik that would unite myriads of regional batik styles, his ‘batik Indonesia’ typically combines both the north-coast pasisir elements with classical Javanese court styles.
