The buketan design, comprising large bouquets of European flowers interspersed with butterflies and birds, is depicted on both the badan (‘body’ or main design field) and kepala (broad vertical panel) of this sarong. Although only two colours are shown, the variety and density of filler motifs enliven the overall design. 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 grandmother of the donors, Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing. 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.
