Smend Batik collection on show in Cologne Museum

By Kunang Helmi-Picard

COLOGNE, Germany (JP): When Yogyakarta's Sultan Hamengku Buwono X opened the Smend batik show at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum fur Volkerkunde in Cologne, Germany on June 21, everyone from the collector, Rudolf Smend, to the mayor of Cologne and its citizens were delighted.

The sultan and his consort were greeted by the sight of two superb large royal Javanese ceremonial hipcloths, displayed prominently in the entrance hall of the museum. Later that evening the soothing tones of the Cologne Kyai Sangu gamelan orchestra entertained guests.

A fine selection of Smend's exquisite batik collection will be exhibited here until October 8, including more choice pieces of "Javanese and Sumatran Batiks from Courts and Palaces" to admire at the Smend Gallery near the museum.

The German-Indonesian Society (DIG) in Cologne, with its long history of promoting good relations between the two nations, was also active in helping batik collector Rudolf Smend and museum curator Brigitte Khan Majlis organized the opening and the show.

Countless international experts and lovers of Indonesian textiles together with members of the Indonesian community in Germany gathered here for the opening event.

Little did Rudolf Smend realize when he traveled extensively around the Indonesian archipelago in the early 1970s that he would eventually become a passionate batik collector and gallery owner.

Even less obvious was the fact that he would eventually earn a living through his favorite pastime. As Smend told those attending the opening: "I was approached in Yogyakarta by a gentle, smiling woman selling some batik, and I bought one -- how could I guess that it was actually the first step heralding a lifelong passion!" His wife Karen has been instrumental in encouraging his idea of an extensive show of his collection.

Most of the batik on show dates from the period between 1880 and 1930 when the art of batik in Java reached its peak. Batik- making concentrated around Central Java and the North Coast of Java.

The pieces of batik in the show can be roughly divided into two groups, those coming from the sultanates of Central Java and those originating from the collections of rich Chinese traders who also showed a penchant for Indo-European batik style besides the myriad motifs depicting Asian mythology.

Many European visitors were amazed to discover some textile themes which were familiar to stories from their childhood, like Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood.

In addition to the batik pieces on display, about twenty vintage photo prints from the Leo Haks collection indicated which each batik was and how it was worn in the royal court and other occasions. Most of these prints had never been shown to the public.

In one photograph taken about 1920, three female batik artisans drew batik patterns in hot wax with their copper canting (a wax-filled pen). Other prints depict a royal prince wearing a beautiful wayang wong (Javanese traditional dance outfit) in bati k or Javanese aristocrats in their batik finery. Still others show concubines from about 1870, an Indo-European family and a Dutch colonial family circa 1915, all wearing the appropriate batik dress.

Two oil paintings acquired by Smend depict stately Chinese matrons wearing their typical batik costumes at the end of the 19th century.

Central Javanese batiks

As many Javanese know, in the 17th century an elaborate and rigid system of dress codes was established in the Javanese royal courts. It was then that soga brown was added to the typical two- toned range of blue and cream in the traditional batik patterns worn in the royal court.

Certain designs were strictly reserved for the sultan and his relatives. These included the diagonal parang rusak design, the kawung motif, formed with circles and with stylized depictions of the garuda (bird), which are found in some batik pieces in the show. Furthermore, several exquisite kemben (chest wraparounds worn by women) of which many of the central sections were covered in brilliant dyed silks, are also on show.

The two dodot (wraparounds), at the entrance of the show were mentioned earlier.

These special wraparounds, which are four times bigger than a normal wraparound, were worn during court ceremonies. The central section was usually reserved for only one color, such as white, green or dark violet, or it was covered in silk.

The outer edge was generally decorated with batik or gold application. For instance, as Khan Majlis points out in her valuable contribution to the illustrated catalog accompanying the show, the bride and groom wore a dodot during most of the wedding ceremony as they were considered to have exceptional status on that occasion.

Fine samples of the square batik cloth used to cover male heads known as iket kepala (headdress) together with some kain panjang (long cloth) were included in the Cologne exhibition.

North Coast of Java

The seaports of the north coast of Java have been trading centers for centuries. In particular, Indian textiles were mainly traded for spice, besides enjoying a robust trade with China. Through intermarriage with Javanese women, a large Chinese/Javanese population known as Peranakan evolved as well as Arab/Javanese and Dutch/Indonesian communities, which all left their distinctive mark on the batik clothing produced in the pesisir (coastal) areas of Java.

Wonderfully preserved examples of sarongs, wraparounds and kain panjang, each with characteristically styled motifs and signatures of famous batikmakers, are on display.

Even several wide-leg batik trousers worn by Dutch men of the colonial period during their domestic lives are displayed beside elaborate Peranakan pieces with their vivid color combinations.

Also on show are special ceremonial textiles used by the latter as door covers and altar cloths.

The exhibition also shows interesting samples of Javanese batik, specially produced for the Moslem population of South and Southwest Sumatra, which included kudhung (large head scarf) worn by women.

Pieces made in Cirebon and Lasem in Java with their characteristics of deep red and strong blue tones, together with examples of batik calligraphy round off this exciting show.

For those unable to attend the show, there is an excellent catalog available at a reasonable price.

Richly illustrated and with valuable contributions from Rudolf Smend, Donald Harper, Brigitte Khan Majlis, Harmen Veldhuisen and Peter Wenger, complete with photos and documentation from the Leo Haks collection, this is a must for serious lovers of the art of batik.