Baca PDF (OCR): Javanese batik designs from metal stamps

JAVANESE BATIK DESIGNS
FROM METAL STAMPS
by
Albert Buell Lewis
Assistant Curator of Melanesian Ethnology
24 Plates
Anthropology Design Series No. 2
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Chicago

D. C. DAVIES DIRECTOK
U.S.A.

ANTHROPOLOGY DESIGN SERIES
This is the second number in a series dealing with
primitive and oriental designs. The first issue "Block
Prints from India for Textiles," is devoted to repro-
ductions of the ink impressions obtained from wooden
blocks, used for printing designs on cotton and silk tex-
tiles. The majority of the reproductions used are
actual size and consist chiefly of border and all-over
designs.
A brief introduction explains the meaning and use
of the designs.
Price (including postage) $1.00 a copy.
Only drafts on Chicago or New York banks, money orders
and postage stamps will be accepted.
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
CHICAGO

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE
PORTION OF A JAVANESE SAR0N6. SHOWING BATIK DESIGNS. NEARLYi,ACTUAL SIZE.

JAVANESE BATIK DESIGNS
FROM METAL STAMPS
by
Albert Buell Lewis
Assistant Curator ot Melanesian Ethnology
24 Plates
Anthropology Design Series No. 2
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Chicago

Javanese	Batik	Designs	from Metal Stamps
The dyed only that part not covered by the wax takes the	of drawing	or painting	a design	wax on has been	cloth so that known and	when
practised	Java many	generations.	Cloth which has been treated and dyed
way	known as batik.	The wax	put on the cloth by means of a small
copper container with a long slender spout.			This	called a tjanting.	The waxing
of the cloth	a slow and tedious	process,	and	done only by the women.
Formerly	such work	was carried	on	by the women	of the
much	as fancy embroidery		done some other	countries.	About	1860,
however,	a new method	was introduced,	which	metal stamps	were	used to
apply the	wax. By	means ten	to twenty	or even more	sarongs	could be
stamped or waxed	a	day, while	by the batik process	would	take a	woman
twelve to	days	to wax a	sarong.	This process	was so much more
rapid that	soon became	extensively	used on	a commercial	often	under
Chinese management.		The stamping was done by men,		and	the finished	cloth
was known	as chop work	(often spelled	from	an Indian	word meaning	a
stamp.	chop cloth	proved	so much cheaper	than	true batik,	that a
large proportion	of the	cloth dyed	Java now waxed by		method, or by a
combination stamped on one	of stamped and batiked on the other; or the borders may be stamped,	and batik	work. For	example,	the cloth	may be
while the	central design	batiked.	Some handwork,	usually	with a	brush,
often done over	the stamped design to broaden the			(Plate	XXIV).
The stamps used	are	made of	of copper	about half an inch wide,
on edge, base of the same material, but of heavier strips.	with short pieces of wire		the	soldered To fastened a curved iron	to an open metal
handle	and	The work	requires great	and	there are not	many
men who can make such and	workman keeps	stamps. The design wanted before him, using a pair of compasses to get the lines		carefully	drawn on paper,
and spaces	exactly which case a	Frequently second stamp	desired must be	to stamp made accurately	both repeating	of the the
design, but	reversed, In the cheaper	and corresponding cloths the	to wax stamped only on one	as a negative	corresponds but pene-	to a
trates	to allow	the design	to show	well on	the opposite
when dyed.	The melted	wax kept	a metal	pan near-by,	which	a
thick cloth Aside from the use of the metal stamp instead of the tjanting for waxing the finer	pad, on which	the stamp	pressed	before placing	on the
of the	design, the	manipulation	the same as	true batik work.
Practically	the batik and chop work		now done on factory-made			cotton,
European or Japanese,		as there	native	cloth made	at present.	Not

process in
color,
in for
in this is is
is
is is
chiefly leisure
class, is in
in
this
in it
fifteen single
it scale,
tjap)
This
in is this
side,
is is
effect
thin strips
set for dots, all
this is
(Figs. 1 2). skill,
is
this the
right. it is sides
cloth, in
it
positive. is side,
sufficiently fairly side
is in in floats
is it cloth.
lines is in
all is
is very little

only		but the designs	used	have been carefully	copied	by the	man-
ufacturers	of Europe	and Japan,	and a	large proportion	of the	so-called	batiks
on the	market	Java	are merely	machine-made		The old	batik
designs,	however,	are usually	very accurately	reproduced,	just	as they	are
the metal	stamps.	Only the	common	repeating designs	were made	stamps,
however, sources.	and many	foreign	elements were	introduced,	especially	from Chinese
The	designs here reproduced are		made from	ink impressions of metal stamps
obtained in Java by Dr. George A.			Dorsey and preserved			Museum.	The
designs,	including	that on	the	are actual	except	the one	on
Plate	which had to be somewhat reduced.			Many	of the designs are imperfect,
especially	at the	edges, owing to injury		to the thin	metal	and
The	best books on batik		work and designs are Rouffaer and Juynboll,				"Die
indische	Batikkunst	und	Geschichte,"	and	Jasper and	Pirngadie.	"De
Batikkunst"		Dutch).	Illustrations	of batik	cloth are given	a	recent
French	portfolio	of	"Les Batiks	de Java."	Specimens	of batik	are
displayed	Hall	32 of the	Museum.

Fig. 2, Plate XX. Fig. 2, Plate VIII.

is this true,
in itself prints.
in
in
in Field
title-page, all size,
II,
strips wires.
ihre
(in in
plates,
in
FIG. 1. JAVANESE METAL STAMP. FIG. 2. JAVANESE METAL STAMP.
The impression of this stamp is shown in The impression of this stamp is shown in
Slightly reduced. Slightly reduced.

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FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE III
JAVANESE BATIK DESIGNS FROM METAL STAMPS.
Adapted from Chinese Designs.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE IV.
Adapted from Chinese Designs. Fig. i. Tiger.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE V.
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Adapted from Chinese Designs: Spotted Deer.

Field museum of natural history. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE VI.
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FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE VII.
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FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE VIII
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The design shown in Fig. 2 is used in the triangular or tootlied design shown on Plate XXIV. The stamp from which
this impression was made is ilhistrated in Fig. 2, Page 2.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE IX.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE X.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XI.
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Fig. I. Adaptation oi Chinese Double Dragon.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XII.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTOHY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XII
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FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XIV.
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FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XV.
Figs.J, 4 ands are single impressions of stamps used for all-over designs.

s),
Fig. I shows two impressions of the stamp.

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FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY. DESIGN SERIES NO. 2. PLATE XVI.
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FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, tJESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XVM.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES
NO, 2, PLATE XVMI
Single impressions of stamps used ior all-over designs.

Fig. I shows four impressions of tlie stamp, a single impression of which is given in Fig. i, Plate XX.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.
ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XIX.

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Fig. I, Plate XIX shows four impressions the same as Fig. i above, illustrating how they fit together for an all-over design.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2. PLATE XX.
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FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XXI.
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Three impressions of Fig. 2 are shown in Plate XXII, illustrating how they fit together.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XXII.
JAVANESE BATIK DESIGN FROM METAL STAMP.
Three impressions of the btamp are here shown, giving something of the efifect as an all-over design.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.
ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE
JAVANESE BATIK DESIGN FROM METAL STAMP.
Twelve impressions, either whole or in
part, are here shown.

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANTHROPOLOGY, DESIGN SERIES NO. 2, PLATE XXIV.
PORTION OF A JAVANESE SARONG, SLIGHTLY LESS THAN Vl. ACTUAL SIZE.
This shows ordinary stamp and brush work. The thin lines of the triangular designs and borders have been made with stamps,
while over the broad lines and light areas the wax has been put on with the brush.

PRINTED BY FIELD MUSEUM PRESS