Indonesian Javanese, Java Lasem

The traditional colors of Pasisir (North Coast) batiks are the bright blue and red seen in this sarong. Although by the date of this batik's manufacture, the "tree of life" badan (field) pattern was considered traditional, it had originally been inspired nearly a century earlier by colorful trade cloth from India. Diagonal bands separating two floral motifs in the kepala (head) are an innovation of the 1880s, while different border designs -- the top border straight and fairly narrow, the bottom border wider with a scalloped edge -- became popular after about 1910.