Rich in tradition and history, the art of batik has been a deeply integrated facet of Chinese folk art for over 2,000 years. Using molten beeswax, skilled artisans paint patterns onto white cloth, which is then dipped into indigo dye. When the wax is removed with boiling water, unique designs of great harmony and beauty remain. The themes depicted in batik decoration have a strong native flavor, and are distinctive of the Chinese provinces and districts where they were created. In Huangping, mountains, trees, and birds are represented. In the Miao district, the concentration is on flowers and butterflies, while in the Yunnan Province, designs of peacocks, monkeys, and elephants abound. In this stunning pictorial archive, more than 110 authentic designs have been carefully reproduced from a rare, early collection of batik art. Collected from the remote areas of China's southwestern provinces, each decorative pattern is rich in beauty and meaning. This royalty-free volume will be an invaluable resource for artists, designers, craftspeople, and any lover of traditional Chinese folk art.

This is the first book to explore color history in Asia. Color is a natural phenomenon and a fundamental element of the universe, and offers a medium to communicate with others globally. It is a language of signals, such as traffic lights, signs or symbols, and an essential part of society. Color attracts people’s attention and transmits important information. As such, color language denotes all of the activities of human history, and has been associated with changes in society, economic development, and dynasties replacing the old with the new. The book brings together many elements of Chinese history with reference to the topic of ‘color’ and has evolved from the authors’ respective interests in art and design, teaching and research, consultancy and publishing. The topic will be of increasing importance in the future as a consequence of China’s increasing influence in the sphere of global culture. For practitioners of art and design, the book will be a valuable resource; for the general public, interested in the development of Chinese aesthetics over the centuries, it will provide a new perspective complimentary to existing studies about art, design and the history of the region.

Gender, ethnicity, and nation in China, as seen through an ethnography of the changing cultural production of the Miao, a minority population.

Textiles provide a visual history of a country's culture and crafting traditions in a way few other things can accomplish. In Textiles of Southeast Asia, Dr. Robyn Maxwell provides the definitive work on Southeast Asian textiles. Traditional textiles are one of the most widely collected and important categories of Southeast Asian art. Using an extensive range of locally produced raw materials and an astonishing array of techniques--including applique, weaving, batik and embroidery--the textiles of Southeast Asia are astonishing in their versatility and originality. Textiles are used to fashion everything from everyday clothing to sacred and ceremonial costumes, shrouds and wrapping cloths, hangings, banners and ritual regalia--all of which are represented and explained in Textiles of Southeast Asia. This authoritative text focuses on the changing relationship between indigenous Southeast Asian traditions and the outside influences continuing to be brought to the area, which change the nature of the region's textile traditions. This book considers the various ways Southeast Asian textile artisans reacted over the centuries to the steady stream of new and powerful ideas and raw materials arriving from India, China, the Islamic world and Europe. A detailed and definitive resource, Textiles of Southeast Asia is a welcome addition to the field of textiles.

Lush allegorical ladies, Grecian maids and Victorian maidens, Indians, Japanese, dancers, housewives, courtesans; women dancing, smiling, working, weeping, flirting — an unusually rich sourcebook of poses, costumes, clothing, everyday life. 488 illustrations.

From about 1840 onwards, batiks found their way from what was called the Netherlands East Indies, then under Dutch colonial rule, to the Netherlands, where they were kept in private and public collections. Owing to Holland's great interest in Batik, Amsterdam's Tropenmuseum now owns a collection of over 3000 pieces. Many represent the major batik centres that emerged on Java, Madura and Sumatra. Batiks tell the stories of their maker, their wearers and eventual collectors. By studying the history of individual pieces from their creation to their arrival in the Tropenmuseum, we can relate them to their shared history. Batik became a product of intercultural contact in a society where different ethnic groups lived next to or with each other. This book focuses on this communication, on batiks as visual witnesses of cultural encounter within the East but also between the East and the West. This book will appeal to anyone interested in Indonesian arts and textiles. It is a rich source of study for scholars interested in the art of batik and the society in which it developed to its high level of perfection.