Pinned
Peranakan altar cloth (tok wi in Baba Malay)
Decorating the fronts of altars during important ceremonies, these cloths reflect the strong ritual elements of Chinese Peranakan life in Southeast Asia. Families traditionally used embroidered cloths made in southern China, but in the early 20th century, some in Indonesia began using cloths of local batik.
Batik is resist-dyed cloth, originally made in India and then taken up in Java by many ethnic groups. Made on the north coast of Java, these batik altar cloths show traditional Chinese symbols as well as designs from Europe and Southeast Asia. They are an example of how art evolves according to local traditions.
#I made this post just so I could pin these lmao#More people need to see them#Not only is it so gorgeous to look at#It's also just one perfect example of art & history & geography & religion & nature & mythology culminating into something beautiful#and its all handmade! each one is unique! they're not just purely aesthetic. each has a story with the historical and mythical references
