Sarong

This sarong is decorated with a buketan (bouquet) motif with birds and butterflies, set against a green background filled with leaves. The kepala (head) contains a pink background filled with smaller vines. It is signed "Nj: Oeij Kok Sing" and stamped "Oeij Kok Sing / ? Oct 1937 / Agam Riadi". Oeij is the historical Dutch spelling for Oey, a Chinese Indonesian surname of Hokkien origin. 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.