help bg
Go Back

Batik

Batik is a traditional Chinese folk art which combing and dyeing. It is originated in ancient China, no later than the Qin and the Han Dynasty, the ethnic minorities in the Southwest China had grasped the characteristic of wax resisting dyeing by using wax and in insect wax as their materials. It is one of our folk traditional hand-made printing techniques. The painting tool is a specially designed knife. It is slightly hollow in the middle with an offset angle edge to hold the melted wax. Different patterns require different shaped knives, for example semicircular, triangular and axe shaped. While painting, dip the knife into the melted wax and pick a little of it to draw flowers, birds, fishes, paper cutout patterns, to folklore tales and assorted geometric shapes on the white cloth according to the designed patterns. When the wax is solidified, the wax-covered cloth is dipped in the indigo vat for about 45 minutes. The wax on the cloth often cracks after it hardens. The cloth is then dyed and the dyes seep into the cracks making fine lines, called “ice veins”, which distinguish genuine batik cloth from imitations. The cloth is then removed from the dye and put into boiling water to remove the wax. In the final stage, the cloth is rinsed with clean water and beautiful blue and white patterns appear on the cloth. Nowadays, the batik products are more colorful and machine made products are cheaper. The distinct characteristics are the simple pattern, natural, elegant and ancient style. It is a gem in traditional Chinese printing industry.

Please use vertical scrolling on your mobile device.