Cleveland Museum of Art

Slendang (Shoulder Cloth)

Date

1800s-early 1900s

Medium

tabby weave, batik; silk

Culture

Indonesia, Java, North Coast, 19th - early 20th century

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Chinese people living in the coastal cities of northern Java made and traded silk batiks like this one. The silk was imported from China, and the motifs were always Chinese. The "luk wan" bird, a variation of the Chinese phoenix that occurs on this shoulder cloth, was one of the most common motifs on silk batiks, as is the greenish color of the background. The striped border was meant to simulate fringe even though each end is actually finished with fringe. Silk batiks were made for export, particularly to Bali where they were worn at festivals by wealthy people.

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