Unknown Maker, Javanese

The center textile displayed here illustrates one of Indonesia's major dramas - the wayang or shaddow puppet theater. Wayang translates to shadow or spirit, and indeed both Hindus and Muslims used shaddow puppetry to spread their religion. Motifs rendered on the other batiks here also address worlds beyond the physical - rings and curving lines are symbolic of the cosmos, for example. The cross-like pattern or kawang references a cross-section of a palm fruit and the simplified lotus pattern on the smaller batik is based on repeating squares, rectangles, ovals, and stars, which reflect the Javanese belief in a structured universe, or a universal source of energy.

Another traditional Central Javanese pattern is the ceploken, made up of quatrefoil medallions. Like the kain, this textile was probably made in the late 19th century, when patterns that had originally been reserved for the nobility were in common use throughout Java and were being exported to neighboring islands.