Art Institute of Chicago

Headcloth (Iket Kepala)

Central Java, Indonesia

Date

Late 19th century

Medium

Cotton, plain weave; hand-drawn wax resist dyed (batik tulis)

Culture

Java

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The headcloth, worn only by men, is usually square and sometimes has an undecorated area in the center surrounded by evenly distributed pattern. The cloth is tied to form a turban. The principal design element is the royal symbol, the Garuda wing, arranged radially in pairs around the voided central diamond. It would have been worn with a long cloth bearing the same pattern.

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