Court batik has been known since 17th century, at the time when canting was invented.
Batik motifs bearing the Hindu – Buddha, old Javanese belief and Islam influence become the characteristics of Javanese court batik.
From the Hindu culture there are the “Garuda”, “Pohon Hayat” (tree of life) and “Lidah api” (fire tongue), from the Buddha came the “Swastika”; the old Javanese belief is reflected by the arrangement of certain motifs following the “Moncopatism”, and Islam is marked by the prohibition of putting real form of human being in the design.
The arrangement of ornaments in its motif always follows certain rules and every ornament symbolizes the philosophical meaning of all those cultural influences.
Batik of the court of Surakarta has reddish brown, dark blue and creamy white, and is made for “Dodot”, kain, kemben (=breast cloth) and ikat kepala (= head cloth).
