BATIK APRON WITH CENTRAL MOTIF OF ELDER ASTRIDE A CRANE SYMBOLISING LONGEVITY. JAVA, LATE 20TH CENTURY. HAND-DRAWN WAX ON COTTON; SYNTHETIC DYES. 98 X 94CM. SIGNED OEY KIE HOAT - KEDUNGWUNI. COLLECTION AND PHOTO: TREVOR VALE - TAASA Review March 2011

BATIK APRON WITH CENTRAL MOTIF OF ELDER ASTRIDE A CRANE SYMBOLISING LONGEVITY. JAVA, LATE 20TH CENTURY. HAND-DRAWN WAX ON COTTON; SYNTHETIC DYES. 98 X 94CM. SIGNED OEY KIE HOAT – KEDUNGWUNI. COLLECTION AND PHOTO: TREVOR VALE – TAASA Review March 2011

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This article was originally found in the March 2011 edition of TAASA Review (Volume 20, Issue 1, Page 19).

The full article is available for free to TAASA Members.

heritage displayed in museums and the restored houses and mansions of wealthy Peranakan Chinese in Penang, Malacca and Singapore.

It is interesting to note that though the Straits Chinese have a well recognised tradition of creating fine pieces of embroidery, it is said that large embroidered panels and fabrics having a lot of couched metallic thread were rarely fabricated by Straits Nonyas but are considered to have been produced in the workshops of Southern China (Ho 1987: 92).

This observation would also hold true for the majority of embroidered aprons used by the Chinese in Indonesia. The Chinese in Indonesia and the Peranakan Chinese in Java and Sumatra in particular, did not restrict themselves to imported embroidered aprons and made use of decorated cloth produced by the batik process from workshops on the north coast of Java...