A large bouquet, a motif known as buketan or ‘bouquet’, is shown on the fuchsia pink, broad vertical panel (kepala) of this sarong. The same buketan motif is repeated on the lilac blue “body” (badan) of the sarong, although it is set against a ground of single blossoms, leaves and birds in flight. The bright colours used on this piece was possible because of the use of synthetic dyes. 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.
