Indonesian Batik, an old traditions that grows to luxury item

Many people has mistaken batik with specific batik patterns, designs, or even the fabric used.

Batik itself actually refers to the art of painting itself, which the action of hand drawing and painting to the fabric, which uses wax.

There has been some debate over which country first incorporated batik into their culture, it is generally agreed that the best products usually hail from Indonesia. While not far behind, Malaysian batik has never been as intricately designed as some of the Indonesian examples.

Indonesian Batik has been claimed as Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity for all the techniques, technology, motif development, and the cultural values needed to make a piece of it. It is because the process includes two factors: coloring techniques and the choice of the motifs. This step is not easy since every motif should have a characteristic.

Indonesian believe that the existence of Batik started in Majapahit era, and increasingly popular in the end of 18th century or he beginning of 19th century. Batik was actually purely handmade, but later on, as the technology has developed, it is mostly printed. What supports this change the most is the amount of orders. The handmade ones do need long time of painting, but the printed ones need shorter time.

In the old times, batik cloth was used for the royal family for formal occasions in Indonesia as sarongs or traditional dresses. Since they usually comes in a simple one piece of fabric, then they can be used in a wide variety of products, including batik sarongs, scarf, and even dresses and shirts.

The finest batik fabrics can run into the thousands of dollars. Price usually depends on the design, complexity, fabric and the type of dyes used during production. Expensive examples also usually reflect the length of time that was needed to produce such pieces.

In some families, Batik is even considered as a tradition. It makes them have their own motifs which are different from other families. It is like their identity, since the motifs can even show their economical status. Until now, the traditional motifs are still used by the family of Yogyakarta and Surakarta residence. Batik is probably the most unique outfit you have ever known. Where else you can find that brands do not talk much, but motifs do?