Tjanting, Javanese batik tool, 1914. The tjanting is a pen-shaped tool used to draw a design with melted wax on cloth; for batik, or wax-resist dyeing. This example has a short tubular handle with a copper applicator tip. The handle is bamboo, and protects the worker from the hot wax. The tip is both a reservoir for the melted wax and a thin hollow spout through which the wax is drawn onto the cloth. The price in Java in 1921, when this group of objects was purchased, was 5 cents, according to the accession file. Accompanied a group of 6 batiks purchased from a Washington DC collector in 1921. The file indicates that the collector had acquired the pieces in Java either in 1894 or 1914.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.