This ‘selendang’ (‘shoulder cloth’) features abstract motifs of foliage and birds. Such shoulder cloths were popular among the mixed Chinese indigenous communities of Java as well as with communities as far afield as Bali and Sumatra. This piece was made using batik, a process where molten wax is applied to areas of the cloth to resist the dye. The origins of batik are widely disputed and some see parallel dyeing techniques with India. However, it seems more likely that the technique was first brought to Southeast Asia from Southern China before the 15th century.
