Saris, Skirts, and More from Rajasthan

I am thrilled to open my mailbox and find a dinner party invitation from a certain Indian friend. She's a fabulous cook and my mouth waters to think of her cumin-tinged roasted eggplant. But mostly, I'm eager to see what she's wearing.

Invariably, she greets us in a richly hued sari so stunning that it leaves her dinner guests feeling utterly unimaginative. This time it's embellished with embroidered swirls and tiny reflective mirrors, the kind of textile decoration associated with her native Rajasthan, a partially desert region bordering Pakistan.

Indian textiles count among the richest craft legacies on Earth, encompassing literally thousands of local styles and techniques. Textiles from Rajasthan represent an entire tradition with many sub-specialties, from wood-block prints to tie-dyed cottons and a litany of embroidery techniques long enough to fill a glossary of their own. Through the centuries these rich regional fabrics have constituted a valuable part of women's wedding trousseaus and dowries, identified social status and class, and—through elaborate color symbolism—even conveyed details about the wearer like her hometown and if she is the mother of a boy.

Artisans in Rajasthan begin with cotton threads woven on traditional wooden horizontal looms. Many weavers still use vegetable dyes, including those concocted from turmeric, indigo, saffron, and pomegranate, infused into the fabric with the waters of local rivers. The result: the characteristic vibrant reds, blues, oranges, and yellows so closely associated with Rajasthan, colors that also imbue the region's food and architecture.

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Museum Batik Danar Hadi

The passion of H.Santosa Doellah for preserving Batik, trigger the idea of building a museum of batik. As one of the Cultural identities, batik is an insperable part of the city of Surakarta - or popularly known as Solo. Batik crafts-starting from home industries to giant professional manufacturers - are a common sight in every corner of the city.The history of Batik Danar Hadi also began in this city, when H. Santosa Doellah and his wife Hj. Danarsih Santosa decided to start their batik business in 1967.The name Danar Hadi itself was actually a combination of two names ; Ibu Danarsih and her father H.Hadipriyono.

Displayed in this gallery are the antique batiks that were created through the period of time before and during the Dutch and Japanese occupancy, till the independence of Indonesia. Observe batik art at its finest, which includes the Batik Kraton, Batik Belanda, Batik Cina, Batik Hokokai, Batik Indonesia and Batik Saudagaran.

The old building of Ndalem Wuryanigratan itself is promised to be an interesting object for cultural tourism, displaying the spendor of traditional Javanese architecture.

1. Location
"Galeri Batik Kuno Danar Hadi" is located at the centre of Surakarta, at Jl. Brig. Jen. Slamet Riyadi No. 261-263, the main street of Surakarta.

2. Background
The founding of this Gallery was based on Mr. Santosa Doellah's wish in his effort in preserving batik since the Gallery's missions are:

a. Preserving batik in any aspects
b. Providing information for the educational society
c. Building another tour asset for Surakarta in particular and for Indonesia in general

3. The Building

a. This Gallery consists of eights halls:
b. Gallery I
c. Gallery II
d. Gallery III
e. Two Showrooms
f. Hand waxing department
g. Stamp waxing department
h. Dyeing department

4. Collections Being Displayed

Gallery I displays:
a. Batik Belanda (from 1840-1910)
b. Batik Cina (before 1910 and after 1910)
c. Batik Djawa Hokokai (1942-1945)
d. Batik Kraton (batik from the palaces)
Batik Puro Mangkunegaran
Batik Puro Pakualaman
Batik Kasunanan Surakarta
Batik Kasultanan Yogyakarta
e. Batik Pengaruh Kraton (batik influenced by the Batik from palaces):
Batik Cirebon
Batik Banyumas
Batik Indramayu (Batik Dermayon)
Batik Madura
f. Batik influenced by The Indian Cloth
g. Batik Danar Hadi

Gallery II displays:
a. Flow of process (Traditional Batik Process)
b. Batik Wax ingredients
c. Batik Indonesia (1950)
d. Batik Wonogiren (1966-1975)
e. Batik Kontemporer
Batik created by Guruh Soekarno Putra
Batik created by Amry Yahya
Batik created by Bambang Oetoro
Batik created by SP. Gustami
Batik created by Soemihardjo
f. Batik Souvenir

5. Processing Department
Batik Process being shown in this gallery are mostly Multi Coloured Batik Process (Batik Pesisiran Processes) applied on silk.

Traditional Performing Arts
Included in the "one stop shopping" concept, Galeri Batik Kuno Danar Hadi will continually stage traditional performing arts or other cultural events from Central Java and nearby regions. Visitors may enjoy a buffet lunch or dinner prepared just for the event.

Artistic Atmosphere of the Workshop
Take advantage in viewing the process of batik making, whether stamped or drawn, which are famous for its high standard of quality.

Exclusive Shop
The shop provides a variety of exclusive items from exclusive batiks, specific souvenirs from Solo and nearby regions, to high quality Javanese antique and ethnic products. Guests may feel comfortable in the attractive and artistic atmosphere of the shop.

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Silk cooking with soap

Silk cooking aims to remove impurities that are destitute of cloth so that the next process can proceed smoothly.
The process of cooking is the preparation process improvement textiles. This process will eliminate the serisin not dissolve in water to soap soluble in water.
The silk fiber is a fiber-containing animal serisin (22-30%) so that if the fabric is held will feel rough and dull color. This can cause can not be processed further refinement, because of the serisin. So the purpose of this cooking process so that there serisin be lost in the fabric.

Test laboratory

• Tools:
1. Scales
2. Glass beaker
3. Stick
4. Thermometer
5. Heater

• Material:
1. Silk
2. Water
3. Soap

Recipes
• Soap: 10-20 grams / liter
• Temperature: 70-900C
• Time: 1 hour
• Vlot: 1:100

Step work
• Preparing equipment and materials
• Considering the material
• Calculate water needs and substance
• dissolve the substance into the glass beaker
• Entering into a solution of silk is done for 1 hour
• silk Washing with hot water, then washed again with cold water