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Liem Soen Tjaij (Tjay)

Sarong

Maker

Liem Soen Tjaij (Tjay) (probably, b. China, late 19th-mid-20th century)

Culture

Indonesian, Javanese, Indo-Chinese, Indo-European

Title

Sarong

Year

1905-1915

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

cotton

Geography

Place Made: Java

Dimensions

108 x 204.5 cm (42 1/2 x 80 1/2 inches) (length)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich

Object Number

55.480

Type

Exhibition History

Indische Style
Batiks For The International Market
Mar 20, 2015 – Jul 05, 2015

Label copy

This sarong was made in an Indo-Chinese workshop for the Indo-Chinese or Indo-European market. The repeating cranes along the badan, or body of the sarong, are decidedly Chinese in origin, while the kepala bouquet is a direct response to European floral still-lifes.

The signature on this example, Liem Soen Tjaij, is preceded by the Malay word njonja (for “Mrs.”), here separated into njo and nja at the far upper right. Chinese batik artists with Europeanized names had received the status of Gelijkgestelden (or “equal”) from the colonial Dutch government. This practice, introduced in 1910, gave chosen artisans improved trading benefits and additional rights.

Queen of the Insects
The Art of the Butterfly
Dec 11, 2009 – May 09, 2010
Rockefeller Asian Art Gallery

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Liem Soen Tjaij (Tjay) (probably, b. China, late 19th-mid-20th century)
Sarong, 1905-1915
Cotton; wax resist print (batik)
108 x 204.5 cm (42 1/2 x 80 1/2 inches) (length)
Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.480

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