Dutch Designers Pioneer New Batik Style

Jakarta Globe, Katrin Figge, March 23, 2013

For Indonesia\'s high-society women of the 19th and 20th centuries, batik
indicated wealth and status. (JG Photo/Katrin Figge) 

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Batik, the traditional Indonesian cloth hand-made using a wax-based resist-dyeing technique, is as well-known in Indonesia — and abroad — as nasi goreng.

But not everybody is familiar with Batik Belanda; batik featuring motifs influenced by Dutch culture.

Many Dutch citizens who lived in Indonesia during the colonial era took a liking to batik but over time added colors and patterns that were more familiar to their European origins, such as flowers and images from fairy tales.

An exhibition at Dutch cultural center Erasmus Huis in Kuningan, South Jakarta, in collaboration with Jakarta Fashion Week, the Jakarta Textile Museum, Galeri Batik and batik collector Asmoro Damais, is currently showing several batik fabrics made between 1840 and 1940.

At its peak in the 19th century, Batik Belanda may have been produced by the Dutch for their market back home — as opposed to Indonesian women who made batik sarongs for personal, not commercial uses — but the people who worked on the European designs were still mainly Indonesians.

“The term ‘Batik Belanda’ will lead people who are not familiar with it to believe that this is a mainly Dutch thing, which it isn’t,” long-time batik collector Asmoro said at the exhibition’s recent opening.

The oldest fabrics at Erasmus Huis date back to the mid-19th century and are handled with care, as the colors have faded and the cloth is prone to tearing. Other pieces are surprisingly well-preserved.

What they have in common is the representation of a particular era of Indonesian history, and should be regarded as a valuable piece of the country’s cultural heritage.

Foreign influence

More than simply displaying old batik fabrics and new designs, the exhibition also includes excerpts from the 1993 book “Batik Belanda 1840-1940 Dutch Influence in Batik from Java History and Sources,” written by Harmen C. Veldhuisen and translated into Indonesian.

“For many women who used batik at the time, having a big collection of batik sarongs was a proof of their social status,” Veldhuisen wrote. “Batik was also seen as a good, solid investment.”

He added that it was very common among women to show off their collections whenever they received visitors, following the unspoken rule that the larger and older the collection — preferably including family heirlooms — the greater the host’s social capital.

Several Dutch producers played an important role in the batik industry, and interestingly, there were quite a few women among them.

Catharina van Oosterom began producing batik in Semarang, Central Java, in 1845, while Ms. L. Metzelaar did the same in 1880.

“Ms. Metzelaar was the pioneer in using flower patterns as a motif for batik,” Veldhuisen explained, adding that flowers and little birds subsequently became a trend among batik motifs, and Metzelaar’s designs were often copied.

One of the most famous female batik producers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, however, was Eliza van Zuylen, who introduced intricate patterns and details into her designs as well as Chinese and Arabic nuances that started appearing across the industry.

Batik has also seen Japanese and Indian influences over the years, weaving a rich tapestry of more than just Indonesia’s story and traditions.

Batik Belanda

Through April 4

Erasmus Huis

Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav. S3, Kuningan, South Jakarta

Tel. 021 524 1069