This sarong belongs to the Peranakan Chinese and would have been worn with a blouse known as a ‘kebaya’. It features a ‘kepala’ (‘head panel’) of a large floral bouquet with birds while the rest of the field is decorated with diagonal stripes. Peranakan Chinese batik is noted for its gay colours—such as shades of orange, yellow, pink and mauve—made possible by the use of imported chemical dyes from Europe beginning in the 19th century.
