This brown silk altar cloth, or tokwi, features a batik pattern of a central medallion, depicting the goddess of the west Hsi Wang Mu riding a qilin. Surrounding the medallion are plants and animals, notably two large phoenixes. Based on the size of the altar cloth, it was probably used in a temple instead of a domestic altar. Batik altar cloths are traced at least from the 19th century, particularly in Java’s northern coastal towns known as the pesisir. Chinese goddess motifs such as Hsi Wang Mu also began appearing around the 1850’s, as batik designers began looking at fairytales and mythology for inspiration in their designs.
