Vintage and Antique Batik

Vintage Javanese Batik small scarf

A small screen printed scarf in the traditional colours and designs of batik.

Worn over one shoulder in formal wear

Colours: ivory, cafe au lait,  black

Size:  1.46 m x 32 cms.

Vintage Breast cloth (kemben)

A really lovely vintage batik cloth from Java. This is an old fashioned breast cloth which is traditionally worn wrapped around the top half of the body. In Java its known as a "kemben" and always features a plain diamond shaped lozenge in the middle.

The beautiful yellow and wine red cloth has designs of flowers and leaves

Size approx: 48 cms x 2.40 m

Vintage Batik - Rich Diamonds

A beautiful soft vintage piece of traditional cap (copper stamped) batik fabric. 

Colours: A rich caramel brown with hints of ivory and accents of indigo blue.

Washed and worn with some small areas of repair or wear

Vintage Batik - Parang and Chick

A beautiful soft vintage piece of traditional cap (copper stamped) batik fabric. 

A cloth featuring the famous "parang" diagonal design alternating with a baby bird (a fertility sign)

Colours: ivory, caramel brown with hints of indigo on a black background

Vintage Batik - Sultan's Design

A genuine old vintage piece of tjap (copper stamped) batik dyed with natural dyes of indigo and soga brown.

The design is a wonderful and auspicious one featuring "sawat" big double eagle's wings (the Sultans' symbol of power) as well as laden rice plants (fertility and richness) foliage, and other symbolic motifs.

A design like this could be worn at a Rice harvest or rice field blessing ceremony.

Colours: Ivory, creamy pale yellow and deep indigo blue.

Vintage Batik Star Filled Curves

A worn and used genuine vintage Javanese batik cloth.

A design of large curving lozenges which contain smaller designs of stars ("truntum") rice spirit houses, butterflies and other auspicious symbols. This design makes it very suitable for wearing at an important life event such as a wedding or the naming of a child.

Colour: A warm golden brown with cream and deep indigo blue and black.

Vintage Batik - Garuda Eagles

A lovely worn cloth with a design of  dense "ukel" hooks in the background and graceful flowers and tendrils, intersperced with a full "Garuda" eagle motif. The huge mythical bird Garuds, has great significance in Javanese philosophy.

Some very slight damage and staining.

Very pale yellow with black and touches of indigo 

Vintage Batik - Wedding Wishes

A genuine hand drawn vintage batik cloth from Java. This is a  very popular design called "sido mukti" wishing health and happiness and a design such as this one is specially worn at life events such as baby namings and weddings.

The diamond shaped lozenges enclose small symbols including butterflies, rice spirit houses and birds' wings. This is a hand drawn batik.

Pale coffee cream, pale chestnut brown and deep indigo blue

Vintage Batik - Flaming Volcanoes

A genuine vintage stamped batik about 50 - 70 years old dyed using natural dyes (indigo blue and soga brown)

The design includes Garuda eagle's wings, rice spirit houses, and stylised mountain designs with flames atop - possibly representative of  Mount Merapi the active volcano which dominates the landscape around Central Java.

Very good condition apart from a stitched repair and tear along one hem.

Colours:  Ivory, palest yellow and indigo blue.

Hand drawn Batik - Indigo diamonds

An unusual hand drawn batik sarong - with a "village made" feel. The original brown coloured vegetable dye called "soga" has almost faded out with repeated washing and is now visible in patches and along the selvedge. The rest of the cloth has faded to the beautiful natural indigo blue.

The design is one of the "sido mulyo" type designs which are worn specially at life events like weddings, betrothals and births to wish the family a long and happy life.

Colours: Ivory white and deep indigo with some brown patches.

There is a stamped BATIK TULIS sign on one hem.

Hand drawn batik - Chickens and Eggs

A genuine vintage second hand batik sarong cloth from Java. This is a hand drawn piece probably made by a village woman for herself or her daughter.

The design is of chickens with a background filled with eggs.  Designs such as this one represent the wish for fertility and could be worn or used at a ceremony around betrothal, marriage or birth.

Good condition. As this is a well used piece there may be some wear and tear.

Colours: All natural dyes. Pale yellow, caramel brown with deep blue indigo and black

Hand drawn batik - eagles wings

A hand drawn piece - This lovely old and faded batik was probably made in the 1950's  before chemical dyes had been fully adopted in Central Java. It has been dyed using plant indigo and the bark brown dyes called "soga". Very deep blue and pale cream and cafe au lait colour.

The design shows flowers and leaves interspersed with traditional "sawat" eagle wings and tail designs.

There is a repaired tear about two/thirds of the way along which is reflected in the price.

Size: 106 cms x 2.55m

Indigo hand drawn vintage batik

This wonderful deep indigo blue and white batik has a truly organic feel to it and was clearly made by an experienced batiker. 

The design features a dense and intricate background of little hooks (known as "ukel") and figures of elephants, deer and flying birds as well as traditional symbols like the Garuda eagle's wings, rice grains and stalks and the sacred mountain.

This is an antique piece - probably 70 - 100 years old and there is some fading, a couple of yellow spots and signs of careful repair and patching. Beautifully soft and smooth cotton.

Size: 1.05 x 2.45 m

Double bedcover in vintage batik

A beautiful and unique patchwork bed cover made in Java - this is suitable for a large double or king size bed. The patchwork is made from pieces of hand made vintage Javanese batik in vegratable dyed shades of indigo blue, white, pale yellow and cream. Many of the fabrics come from hand drawn batik "tulis". They are old and should be treated with care!

The backing and borders are in a plain deep navy blue twill.

All cotton fabric. Size: 2.15 m x 2.15 m

Tiga Negeri Batik

A stunning hand drawn batik "kain panjang" (or long cloth) which is at least 100 years old. "Tiga negeri" means "three states" and refers to the fact that the cloth was sent to three different parts of Java - Solo, Jogyakarta and Lasem where the natural dyes were applied. (indigo blue, soga brown and morinda red).

Very finely executed designs of flowers, birds and butterflies. The designs and colours were much loved by the Peranakan Chinese community living in Java and Malaysia. This is a real piece of textile history on beautiful smooth top quality primissima cotton. There is a signature in one corner which reads TJOA SIANG GWAN. SOLO

The batik is in very good condition with some small darns at two of the corners and a very small hole on one end edge.

Size: 1.05 x 2.52 m