Batik

Batik is a malaysian term meaning a dot or design. It is a method of printing textiles, perfected by the inhabitants of Java since the fifth century A.D. Printed silks in batik patterns were presented for the first time in France at the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1900. Before dyeing, the parts that are not to be colored are covered with liquid wax. This gives the typical marble or dotted effect, with irregular patterns, more or less worked out, but unique and unrepeatable. Cotton batiks are used for African “pagnes” and Indonesian sarongs; those made of silk are often the work of artists.