The exceptional collection of Dr. Etty Indriati.

Dr. Indriati’s Story

When I was a child, I wore batik cloth wrapped around my waist, while learning Javanese dances in a palace compound in Solo, Central Java. I would pose, standing up, with my left hand near my waist, flexing my left elbow. My right hand extended to the right side, and I drew it gently toward my eyes. Growing up, batik, dance, and gamelan percussion orchestra were inseparable art forms in my life, and remain dear to my heart. I have collected court batiks made mainly in central Java and worn mostly by the Javanese and the vibrant North Coastal batiks, mainly worn by those with Chinese heritage.

Batik is made while holding one’s breath, with steady and agile hand-eye coordination, artists create some of the best cloth in the world. In the early 1970s, as a child, I loved observing the variety of batiks worn by the hundreds of women who worked in my parents’ factory. The women paired blouses with long hip-wrappers, that enveloped them from the waist down to their heels. The men mostly wore batik sarongs with geometric motifs and plain white shirts.  We, the Javanese, have always worn art as clothing. Despite the availability of mass manufactured clothing, which characterizes the contemporary garment industry, batik is still worn on special occasions such as wedding and receptions.

After decades of collecting, I now have several hundred batiks, and each one carries invaluable memories. The batiks work like a magical portal, that brings forth conversations and events that I treasure. I also collect Sumbanese ikats and Balinese double ikats. Sumba’s single ikat is rich in its figurative motifs, and Balinese double ikats showcase motifs not only similar to Gujarati patola, but also intricate wayang designs similar to the relief carvings in 13th-century temples in East Java as well as new patterns.