This batik textile is decorated with images and motifs influenced by Javanese batik traditions and Art Nouveau or Nieuwe Kunst esthetics. It depicts two figures holding flowers, a dove (which may represent the holy spirit of the Christian tradition) and a central flower with the letters JHS—an acronym for the latin phrase Iesus Hominum Salvator, which means, Jesus Savior of Mankind. Beneath this is an excerpt from psalm 112, 'Beatus vir, qui timet Dominum, in mandatis ejus volet nimis.” Apart from the Christian iconographies, this textile is also bordered with Javanese batik motifs such as the parang rusak and semen garuda, or at very least, inspired by them.In the late 19th century, many Dutch newcomers to Java, mainly wealthy women, were determined to introduce Dutch culture to Java. Some of them, for example the Gobe sisters and Mrs Ter Horst, opened manufacturing studios that produced batik influenced by the Nieuwe Kunst movement but also traditional Javanese batik. This batik textile could have come from similar enterprises.
