This sarong is decorated with a buketan (bouquet) motif. On the kepala (head), the buketan is set against a blue background and surrounded by smaller flowers. The badan (body) contains knife motifs that run across the background. It is signed “Nj: Oeij Kok Sing”, and stamped “Oeij Kok Sing / 30 […]1936”, and “8”. Oeij is the historical Dutch spelling for Oey, a Chinese Indonesian surname of Hokkien origin. Handelaar means dealer. Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing was a second-generation batik maker in Pekalongan. She began to produce high quality batiks in the 1920s. Her batiks from the 1930s reveal great technical virtuosity and a creative use of colour, made possible by synthetic dyes from Europe. After the Second World War, her daughter Jane Hendromartono (1924–1988) took over the family batik business.
