Art Institute of Chicago

Shoulder Cloth (Selendang)

Indonesia, Central Java

Date

Late 19th century

Medium

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

Culture

Java

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

A shoulder cloth is a long, narrow cloth worn by women over the shoulder as a shawl or to carry a baby or market goods. This fine example was produced within the palace compound of a central Javanese court. Classic colors have been employed—blue, white or cream, and the soga reddish brown—and the major motifs of birds and paired Garuda wings have been symmetrically arranged on the field in an almost heraldic way.

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