Batik is a very old and particular to the Asian continent art form. This skill, which has its roots in Java, Indonesia, is as versatile as its history.
The word “batik” is Javanese. It originated from the Javanese “ambatik” which consists of “amba” which means “wide” or “large” and “tik” or “nitik” which means “dot” or “make a dot.” In Javanese, “bathikan” also refers to writing or sketching. The “th-” sound was eventually changed to a “t-” sound, which was simpler for non-Javanese speakers to pronounce as the term was gradually assimilated into Malay (containing both Indonesian and Malaysian standards).
The Encyclopaedia Britannica of 1880 contains the earliest English usage of the word batik, which is spelt as battik. During the Dutch colonial era, it is documented in the Indonesian Archipelago in a variety of forms, including mbatik, mbatek, batik, and batek. A “pangeyeuk” or batik maker can transform cloth into a form of batik, also called as “euyeuk” in Sundanese.
Although G. P. Rouffaer contends that India or Sri Lanka may have introduced the technique in the sixth or seventh century, Indonesia still holds the top spot for generating the best batik designs.
varieties of batik
Tuli batik is created by writing waxy liquid on the fabric’s surface using a canting tool. A bamboo or wood handle is attached to a copper canting. A hand-written batik can take one to three months to complete, depending on its complexity and level of detail. Because the process is still manual and conventional, making hand-written batik takes more time and expertise than other batik procedures. The main difference between written batik and other types of batik is also that each pattern contains differences because they were created by humans, including varied amounts of points or curved lines.
Compared to other batiks, hand-written batik is more valued and distinctive due to this quality.
Batik that is created using a stamping instrument is known as stamp or block batik. This stamping device is comprised of copper plates, and one of its surfaces has a batik pattern on it. . Using waxes rather than ink allows you to create batik the same way you would with a stamp or block. It’s difficult to complete this experience process. Depending on the quantity of colours wanted, the deepening procedure is repeated numerous times to create a single piece of batik cloth.
A copper instrument that has been fashioned in a certain way on the fabric is dyed to create a batik cap.
Painting (with or without a pattern) on a white piece of cloth using a medium or a combination of mediums, such as a canting, brush, banana stem, broomstick, cotton, toothpick, patchwork, or other media, depending on the painter’s mood, is known as painted batik. The evolution of batik art led to batik painting. The method of creating batik that does not use typical, traditional motifs is the essence of batik painting. The maker frequently creates contemporary (free) motifs or designs with bolder, more eye-catching colours and more varied colour variations as a result.
In contrast to written batik (batik tulis), which frequently uses a limited palette of colours, painted batik often uses free-form colouring. Gradation effects and other painting effects are also present. The drawings are created as though painted batik were just a regular painting that was applied to fabric using wax as the medium. In terms of how it is made, painted and written batik are practically identical. Painted batik still has the same components as written batik in terms of the materials, processing, colouring, and highlighting (removal of the wax), thanks to the evolution of traditional written batik.
But there are also a lot of variations because of the impact of modern painting, particularly in terms of appearance and colour and motif choices. The combination of the batik work and colouring, according to the preferences of the batik maker, is the most crucial component in creating painted batik. Popularity of painted batik is attributed to its low cost and innovative production method. Both ornamentation and ready-to-wear apparel (fashion) can be made from painted batik. Display paintings of painted batik featuring human, landscape, still, and other items are highly sought after.
Because they still involve the use of wax in the manufacturing process, the batik tulis and batik cap techniques are recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity from Indonesia.At Swarajshop , we create genuine batik designs on cotton, silk, and tussar sarees fabrics by hand in our very own production facility.
We have been involved with batik for as long as we can remember. Due of batik’s association with Shantiniktan, being to Bengal entails having intimate ties to batik art.
It was undoubtedly one of the genres we were most enthusiastic about because we had always been captivated by the originality of the designs made with wax and colours. Each pattern is hand-crafted by one of our talented and professional batik artists with painstaking attention to detail. Some tasks take months or even years to accomplish, but the end result is always the best.
We provide exclusive and one-of-a-kind designs. Come browse and purchase from our enormous selection of Batik sarees online.
