REGIONS

Where the cloth comes from.

Batik is regional. Palette, motif and line weight all shift with the centre that made it. Coastal workshops work differently from the court traditions, and Lasem and Madura differ again from both.

Regional characteristics below are documented traditions of each craft centre. Workshop relationships are commercially confidential and are not published.

Pekalongan

Coastal

Central Java

Bright, modern palettes built on flora and fauna. The port kept it open to outside influence, and the Jlamprang motif carries Indian and Arab lineage.

47,000 makers across 101 centres

Solo

Court

Central Java

Dark grounds leaning yellow-brown. Finer, thinner line work in the Edi Peni tradition, which prizes refinement. Kawung and parang recur.

Court tradition

Yogyakarta

Court

DI Yogyakarta

Dark grounds leaning brown. Larger patterns and firmer lines, following Adi Luhung, the pursuit of high quality. Shares kawung and parang with Solo.

Court tradition

Cirebon

Coastal

West Java

Home of Megamendung, the cloud motif that reads as rain-bearing clouds and stands for fertility and the giving of life. The icon of the city.

Largest centre in West Java

Lasem

Coastal

Central Java

A small coastal town on the Java Sea whose workshops are known for a deep red that other centres have never reproduced. Chinese and Javanese design traditions meet here, and tiga negeri cloth begins its journey in Lasem before travelling on to be dyed again elsewhere.

Known for tiga negeri cloth

Madura

Island

East Java

Strong colour and a freer hand than the Java court traditions. Cloth is often left in natural dye baths far longer, and the resulting reds and greens carry more saturation than mainland work.

Island tradition

Talk to us.

Enquire