Part 2

“The cotton used now by batikers is always of European manufacture and is graded according to the fineness of the texture. The different qualities are known severally as, ‘mori moeslim’ or fine-weave cotton, ‘mori mentah’ or unbleached cotton, and ‘mori kasar’ or coarse-weave cotton. The second grade is subdivided into ‘mori mentah aloes’ which is the fine grade of the unbleached cotton and ‘mori mentah kasar’ or coarse unbleached. This last kind is only used by the native aristocracy for the clothing of the members of their household; they themselves wear batik of ‘mori moeslim’ or ‘mori mentah aloes.’

“The measure used when cotton is bought at the ‘Pasar’ is called ‘katja’ or ‘saptangnan’ and it is a square measure, that is to say, if, for instance, the cloth is a yard wide then the measure or ‘katja’ is a yard square and if the width is a yard and a half, the ‘katja’ is a yard and a half.

“The cotton as it comes from the market is not immediately ready to be batiked. If it is a bleached cotton it has to be treated for the removal of all the starch, chalk and other stiffening with which it is dressed. This is done by washing it several times in clear cold water. It is then soaked for several days in cocoanut oil; this in its turn is boiled out in water containing the ashes of burnt rice stalks; this process is continued till the fabric is free from oil. This soaking and boiling is always done, whether the material is bleached or unbleached, and is called ‘mateng’ which literally translated means ‘done’ or cooked thoroughly.

“After the piece is dried in the sun, the cut edges are hemmed—‘didjilid.’ Now the material has to be starched again, ‘njekoeli’; this stiffening is to prevent the wax from flowing too freely,—a condition known as ‘mresep.’ The rice water that is used for this, is made from a strained rice gruel, or more simply, the water is used in which the rice has been boiled. After the material has been starched it is ‘dipe’ or dried once more in the sun and it is then rolled up. This roll is laid on a wooden board, ‘kemplomgen’ and pounded with a wooden hammer, ‘gandeng,’ or if a hammer is not available, the wooden rice pestle, ‘aloe’ can be used. This process is called ‘nganplongi’ and is to make the material soft and supple. Now the material is ready to be batiked, and the following materials and tools are needed.

“1. Wax. Usually six parts of ‘melam geplak’ and one part ‘melam poetih’ are used, with sometimes the addition of a little ‘melam ireng.’ The ‘melam geplak’ consists of a mixture of ‘damar mata koetjing’ which is a kind of rosin that comes from Borneo, melted with animal fat. The ‘melam poetih’ is pure bees-wax and the ‘melam ireng’ is dark coloured wax which has been used already in a previous batik and which has become dark from the blue dye which it took up when in the blue dye-bath. The first two kinds of wax can be bought at any market, but not the ‘melam ireng,’ as every one who batiks always saves enough dark wax from former work, or in case of need, a neighbour will always lend some.

“2. A pan called ‘wadjan’ in which to melt the wax. This is generally of iron, though poor people use stone pots.

[Sidenote: DIFFERENT KINDS OF TJANTINGS]

[Sidenote: PRICE OF NATIVE TJANTING]

“3. A little copper instrument called ‘tjanting’ used in drawing with the wax on the material. It is made of fine thin red copper and has one or more little spouts and a bamboo handle. These tjanting have different names according to the type of work for which they are used, (a) Tjanting ‘isen isen’; this has a very slender spout and is used to make very fine lines and little dots, (b) Tjanting ‘kjandangen’: this instrument has a larger spout and is used to wax the parts which have to stay white in the first process, (c) Tjanting ‘penangang’; this is the tjanting used to cover up the bigger surfaces, (d) The ‘penembok’ has a very wide spout to cover parts that are to be completely protected by wax, (e) The tjanting ‘pengada’ has two spouts next each other for the drawing of parallel lines. There are various other varieties that have three, five and sometimes as many as six spouts for making little rosettes and groups of dots. Tjantings are always made by men and the work is not subdivided, that is to say, one man makes the instrument from start to finish; as a rule the makers have at least twenty-five tjanting in the course of construction at the same time. It takes a good workman six to seven days to make about 250 of the little tools, that is, about forty a day. Figuring the cost of materials and charcoal used in the making, together with overhead expenses and the receipts figuring at the rate of 24 cents (American money), for 240 tjantings, it will be seen that an excellent craftsman makes on an average about 30 cents in Dutch money, equivalent to 12 cents American, a day.

“4. The ‘djegoel,’ an instrument which replaces the brush used in Europe and is made of a thin wooden stick with a wad of cotton tied to the end. This is for waxing very large surfaces.

“5. The ‘iroes.’ This is a spoon made out of cocoanut shell and has a bamboo handle; it is used to mix the melted wax and to scoop the wax off the water in which the finished batik has been boiled.

“6. The ‘wadja.’ The copper pan in which the fabric is boiled when the wax is being removed.

“7. The ‘panjawanjan.’ A small movable stand over which the material is hung during the waxing process.

“8. The ‘tjawang.’ A small bamboo clip used to fasten the fabric to the stand. Rich batikers use an iron clip called “bandoel.”

“9. The ‘doelang.’ A large wooden trough for dyeing.

“10. The ‘pane.’ A small vessel also used for dye made of wood, copper, or earthenware.

“11. The ‘blebeo.’ A wooden straight-edge for use when drawing straight lines—a process called ‘batikan garisan.’

“12. The ‘semprong.’ A blow-pipe with which to blow the fire. The fire is made, as a rule, between three stones set in the form of a triangle, upon which the wax pot is placed.

“To do real batik work the proceedings are as follows. First the main outline of the design is sketched on the material, with charcoal or pencil, and when this is completed the fabric is hung over the little stand and with the tjanting the design is drawn in with wax, the material meanwhile being supported with the left hand; the worker sits on a little mat in front of her stand. The finer parts of the pattern are drawn in without pencil guiding lines.

“When one side is decorated the piece is turned around and the back is very carefully drawn in. With all the surfaces covered which are not intended to be blue it is ready for the blue dye-bath. This dyeing in blue is done by the batiker herself or more often by the professional blue-dyer who does it for a small remuneration. If red is planned on the batik, the wax is removed from the places where this colour is wanted by sponging with hot water. The material is then re-starched with rice water, aren sugar and pulverized randoe leaves, so that the wax will not run or become soft. The parts that are to remain blue have to be re-covered with wax and the piece is ready for the red dye.

“This red dye is made from an infusion of soga bark; successive dippings are made until the desired colour is obtained. To make the colour permanent and at the same time to obtain the much desired purple glow, the material is dipped in a bath made of a mixture of Java sugar, whiting, and alum. It is left in this solution for about an hour, after which it is well rinsed and transferred to a hot water bath. The water is boiled and the wax is dissolved; the wax floating on the top of the water is collected for further use. The finished batik is then dried in the sun. If other colours are required on the piece the same program is repeated.”

BATIK IN HOLLAND

Batik in America is still a comparatively recent importation; brought here some ten years ago, it was met with absolute incomprehension and lack of interest, but its real merit as a means of decorating fabrics has earned it a place in the industrial art of the nation and year by year it is gaining wider recognition.

[Sidenote: HISTORY]

For two hundred and seventy odd years it has been known in Holland, to which country it was brought by the Dutch traders from Java in the middle of the seventeenth century. It was not, however, received very enthusiastically and the commercial failure that followed the importation of some 2000 pieces (which were finally sold at auction, as no market could be found for them through regular channels) did not encourage traders in their efforts to popularize batiks. From that time, that is, about 1750 until 1817, interest in the work decidedly flagged and the honour of reviving it must be given primarily to Raffles who gave a description of it in his well known “History of Java” published at the latter date. He, however, seems to have had very little personal feeling for the art and merely wrote it up as a matter of history, and it remained for the modern artists to give it is first real impetus.

[Sidenote: DUTCH ARTISTS OF FAME]

The present keen interest in the craft is mainly due to Chris Lebeau, Dijesselhof and Lion Cachet, who have, by their wonderful work, revived and stimulated a nation-wide appreciation of the art.

American batik has recently gone through a phase of development similar to that experienced in Holland some twelve years ago. It has been in danger of getting into the class of transient “cults” and becoming a fashionable pastime with a rise and fall similar to the craze for doing peasant wood-carving, burnt-wood work or sweater knitting. But here, too, its real merit has saved it from becoming just a modish amusement. In Holland it was even introduced into girls’ schools as a regular course, so that graduates might enter the social world fully equipped! Luckily for its ultimate survival, however, it required so much technical knowledge that it was soon left to serious students, but the desire for the beautiful results obtained by the process was not relinquished so willingly and the result was that people tried to produce the effect without the work. This imitation was called a “secret process” and enjoyed considerable vogue.

The general public believed that this substitute was real batik, because the material had been dipped and some wax had been used, but any one who knew anything about the genuine process, was not fooled and recognized that stencils and various other fake methods had been utilized. The unlimited patience of the native worker was unknown, and unsung was the thoroughness of the painstaking craftsman. At this period the watch-word was “speed” and the results showed it.

[Illustration: CONVENTIONAL FISH DESIGN BY CHRIS LEBEAU]

The importance placed on the “crackle effect” is another parallel in the phases of development in Holland and America. Crackle certainly has its place in the beauty of batik, but the indiscriminate use of it as a complete motive of decoration in itself, is to be regretted. It would be used less, probably, if examples of the best native and European work were studied, in which real design and colour are the arresting features.

Even whilst admitting that the medium does limit the designer to a certain extent, study of the work of the before-mentioned Dutchmen, Dijesselhof and Lebeau, will show the variety of design, feeling and temperament that can be expressed through the batik process.

[Sidenote: DIJESSELHOF]

[Sidenote: LEBEAU]

Dijesselhof considers batik a better way to express himself for his mural decorations than either oil or water colour painting. He uses the brush to a great extent and works with great freedom of execution, making the medium conform to his own particular type of work. Lebeau, on the other hand, after the manner of the Javanese, sees the tjanting as the only tool with which to produce his richly fantastic designs. Lebeau is technically the greater artist and possesses a supreme disregard of time when he is producing a magnificently ornamented textile; his attitude toward his work is reminiscent of that of the monks who in bygone ages, spent years on the intricate and beautiful ornamentation of their laboriously hand-lettered books of devotion. They, too, had perfection of design and craftsmanship as their only standard.

These men have been an inspiration to Dutch artists, and the illustration of a batik by Chris Lebeau facing page 26 will give the reader a good idea of the high standard of proficiency this Dutch artist and craftsman has achieved. It will be seen that no actual lines were used in these designs; if a line effect was wanted it was made by a series of little round dots, almost equal in size, with the result that a soft pleasing line is obtained instead of a hard one.

[Illustration: GEOMETRICAL FISH DESIGN BY CHRIS LEBEAU]

By graduating the size of the dots, from small to large, an effect is produced that never could be obtained with lines; not only are the lines treated in this way, but whole surfaces in which a light tone is desired, instead of being “covered off” with a brush, are laid in with countless dots very close together. As can be readily understood this hand-work requires the acme of craftsmanship, for if the dots are placed irregularly, that is to say, if their arrangement is not directly harmonious with the main lines of the design, the pattern formed by the spaces between them, would disturb the rest of the drawing.

In the second reproduction it can be seen that the little dots are actually laid in circles, but with such regularity that no circles are shown. The workmanship in the stork design is even more amazing than that of the two first decorations and it is hard to believe that a human being has had sufficient patience to execute such a design.

[Sidenote: EUROPEAN USE OF BATIK]

In Europe, batiks are chiefly used for interior decoration; table covers, screens and lamp-shades being more popular than costumes decorated by the process. It is also used to a certain extent in book-binding, on paper and on parchment. Practically the same methods are employed when batiking these materials as for woven goods, but experimenters are advised to take the greatest care when handling paper, which of course, when wet, tears very easily.

To batik parchment it is necessary to first soak it, in order to make it pliable, then whilst wet, it should be stretched on a piece of plate glass, slightly larger than the parchment, and glued at the edges with strips of paper binding. When thoroughly dry the design is pounced on or drawn in with pencil. Before starting to apply the wax the glass must be warmed from the back, in order to make certain of an easy flowing of the wax; if the parchment is cold it will be found that the wax congeals too quickly and will not be workable. The parts of the design to be left un-coloured are covered with wax as usual, and a little wall of clay is built around the edge of the glass; this forms a bath into which the dye is poured. The colour is allowed to soak in thoroughly and the dye is then poured off, the process being repeated if the tone from the first bath is not intense enough; other colours are applied in the same way. The wax is then removed by sponging carefully with gasoline.

[Illustration: STORK PANEL BY CHRIS LEBEAU]

[Illustration: FLAMINGO CURTAIN BY PIETER MIJER]

Aniline dyes are used chiefly and occasionally acids which produce colour by their action on each other, are employed. Vegetable dyes are popular in Holland on account of their permanence, the Dutch being almost as particular about the durability of their work as the Javanese. This is natural when one remembers that, there, the batik art is considered in the same light as painting and sculpture, and frequent exhibitions are held for a public whose attitude toward the craft is very different to that of many Americans, who do not yet appreciate the art as an art.

Beside public interest, the government of Holland has done its best to stimulate the study of the craft. Experimenting stations are maintained, where free of all cost, the artist can have his batiked design dyed and he is given all the information and help that he wants. This, of course, means a great deal to the beginner who knows little or no chemistry, some knowledge of which is quite essential to one who would become a really expert dyer.

UTENSILS AND MATERIALS

Before going into the details of the actual batik process it will perhaps be a good plan to give a description of the necessary tools and their management, wax, and various other essential requirements. The tools chiefly used, are the native instrument called the “tjanting,” the brush, and the European wax pencil. Of these three the tjanting and the brush are most generally used, the wax pencil being a somewhat clumsy affair and hard to handle.

[Illustration: THE USE OF BATIK IN INTERIOR DECORATION]

[Sidenote: TJANTINGS]

The “tjanting” used in America is a modification of the Javanese instrument; it is a little cup-shaped tool with a handle set at right-angles to the base on one side and on the other is a fine spout arrangement. Through this spout the hot wax is drawn by capillary attraction when the point is brought in contact with the material. In the best type of “tjanting” the spout is tapered toward the point; this shaping is in order that the volume of wax, small though it is, will hold the heat longer than if the entire length of the tube were as minute as the hole through which it is finally drawn.

In batiking with the tjanting the wax is scooped out of the pot in which it is being kept hot and the instrument is wiped off carefully before it is brought near the fabric. It does not do to take a chance on having a drop of wax fall on the work as it is next to impossible to remove it entirely. Some people hold their tjanting directly over a flame to re-heat cooling wax, but it is a very unwise practice as there is a grave danger of hurting the spout and a likelihood of the wax becoming charred. If the wax does get too cold to work with, or the spout gets stopped up with chilled wax, hold the bowl of the tjanting in the hot wax in the melting pot and it will be found that the trouble is remedied instantly. If you have been unlucky enough to get grit or some other clogging substance in the spout, the insertion of a fine hair wire will usually clear it; this is almost a major operation though and should be performed most carefully as it is a delicate instrument you are handling and it costs money to repair it even if you are in the neighbourhood of some one who is able to re-solder it.

So fragile is the point of these fine instruments that even the sudden check caused by the rough fibre of some materials is sufficient to ruin the tip. When not in use the safest plan is to hang it in a box of its own or at least keep it in a place sacred to itself, with its spout upwards, so that there is no likelihood of accidental pressure to bend it out of shape. This careful handling of the tjanting is emphasized because, while the initial cost of a good instrument may seem high, it is a most satisfactory tool to use and with proper attention it should last a life-time. One that is in use today has been used steadily for the past twelve years and looks good for holding many more pints of melted wax.

[Illustration: CLEANING THE TJANTING]

[Illustration: DYING OF TEXTILE]

The frontispiece shows a piece in which all the line work was done with a tjanting, the brush only being used to fill in the big surfaces, after the various dippings. The design is an adaptation from the Chinese, inspired by the decoration on a coramandel screen. The panel is worked out in seven colours: two golds, two greens, red, brown, and black. It was designed by the writer and executed by Emile Weeckers and himself.

The spout openings come in various sizes and with the finest almost hair-lines can be produced. The wax when ready to flow forms an infinitesimal globule which will run freely when just touched to the material and skimmed as lightly as possible over the surface. A heavy hand will drop the point so that it touches the fabric; the moment it does this the hole is automatically sealed and the wax cannot flow.

Many batikers are not able to obtain a tjanting and would not if they could, preferring to do their waxing entirely with brushes. Brushes, properly trimmed and of various sizes, will certainly give very satisfactory results to the careful worker. Of course the minute line possible with the tjanting, is impossible to achieve with a brush, though a line as narrow as the sixteenth of an inch can be made by a practised craftsman.

[Sidenote: USE OF BRUSH]

The all-over floral design shown facing page 36, designed by the writer and executed by Miss E. Shirtleff, was made in six colours. This panel was done in the “blue group,” explained in the chapter on dyeing. The outline of the flowers is in the original white of the material, the petals of the flowers range in colour from straw yellow to orange, with some of the outer ones in moss green. The background has a “wave design” worked out in all the different colours used in the flowers and an extra shade of dark green. The waxing of this piece was done entirely with the brush and has no line of a greater width than one-sixteenth of an inch.

[Illustration: FLORAL DESIGN ENTIRELY EXECUTED WITH A BRUSH]

[Sidenote: PREPARING BRUSHES]

This fine work is easier with shaped brush; this shaping is done without much difficulty by dipping the brush, preferably a good sable one, into hot wax, and, without pressing the globule formation out of shape, gently wiping the excess of wax from the distended bristles. Allow this to cool and when hard, trim to a point with a sharp knife. Melt the cold wax out by dipping in the wax pot and you will have a brush that will be more manageable and will hold more wax for the size of its point, than one would have with the regular unshaped brush. For covering big surfaces, one or two flat soft-haired varnish brushes will be needed.

[Sidenote: WAX MIXTURES]

[Sidenote: “CRACKLE”]