Cloudband Batik

An eight-color batik from the island of Cirebon. Batiks are dyed in the wax resist technique. The cloth is painted with wax and then dipped in dye. The dye adheres to the unwaxed areas. The fabric is then boiled, and the wax melted away. The same process is repeated with different colors. One can tell batik from other dyeing processes as the borders between the colors have crackles to them.

The island of Cirebon has a large Chinese population, and their batiks feature the cloud band motif, a typical Chinese motif. This batik features cloud bands of eight colors, mostly different shades of indigo.