This skirt cloth (kain panjang) shows two alternating patterns, rows of diagonal lines (parang klithik gapit) and circular motifs (nitik jonggrong). The parang motif is a “forbidden” pattern (pola larangan), reserved for Javanese royalty. The nitik motif imitates geometric designs found on woven patolas (double ikat), a popular luxury trade cloth from the Gujarat coast of India. The use of parang and nitik motifs and the application of soga brown dyes on white background is characteristic of Yogyakarta court batik.This skirt cloth was worn by Toetti Tukajati Soerjanto (born 1935), an Indonesian batik scholar for her wedding in 1959. In Java and many parts of the Malay Archipelago, the wedding couple is regaled as “King and Queen” for the day. As an extension of this special status, they wear batik with royal motifs.
