JP\/5\/BATIK<\/p>\n
Batik museum offers country's cultural heritage to tourists<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
A new museum and study center inside the Yogyakarta palace
\ncomplex is helping to preserve the region's batik tradition by
\neducating a new generation of people about this important
\ncultural heritage.<\/p>\n
The batik on exhibit in the museum, which was recently opened
\nby Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, was donated by the palace and
\nmembers of the public.<\/p>\n
Sri Sultan said during the museum opening that it was
\nimportant to preserve the art of batik, which he described as
\nconveying important ethical and aesthetic lessons. He also said
\nbatik was closely associated with life; people are wrapped in
\nbatik when they are born and when they die.<\/p>\n
Batik is also an expression of life and man's place in the
\nuniverse, as depicted on the gawangan (wooden frame on which
\nfabric is hung).<\/p>\n
The bandul (fabric weight used in the batik-making process)
\nrepresents the heart, and the lancing wax is the gem of one's
\nsoul. Each item used in the batik-making process batik equipment
\nhas its own significance.<\/p>\n
The 150-square-meter museum contains batik cloth dating back
\nas far as hundreds of years, as well as new pieces donated by the
\npalace and the public. The museum also houses batik
\nparaphernalia, such as canting (small dipper used to apply wax in
\nthe batik process) and different types of wax.<\/p>\n
There is a large selection of canting and wax, in all
\ndifferent sizes and shapes, according to their function.<\/p>\n
Kote wax, for instance, functions as a cloth whitener and
\nprotector, tembok wax blocks parts of the design that will be
\nwhite later, biron covers the first color applied during the
\ndying process and gondorukem is used as a mixture in wax to
\nproduce fine etchings.<\/p>\n
A piece of batik with a parang barong motif and tassels at its
\nends, worn by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono VIII during his
\ncoronation in 1921, is also exhibited at the museum.<\/p>\n
Upon entering the building, visitors will be amazed by the
\nsheer variety of the motifs on display. There are about 60 modern
\npieces of batik in various patterns, including parang, cuiri,
\ntruntum, ceplok, sido mukti and sido luhur.<\/p>\n
The art of batik has developed over the course of centuries,
\nsince the era of the Hindu and Buddhist empires, as can be seen
\nin batik motifs in a number of ancient temples, such as the Sewu
\nand Prambanan temples.<\/p>\n
Batik has gone through extraordinary changes over the
\ncenturies, and today batik designs have been incorporated into
\nhotels, shopping malls and government buildings, and batik has
\nbecome part of the national dress.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp5batik-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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