" A graphic breastcloth (kemben) hand-drawn with one of the most popular of batik patterns made in the town of Banyumas in central Java. The striking ceremonial format contrasts the deep red elongated diamond reserved in the center with a surrounding batik design of natural motifs (a type of pattern called lung-lungan), in classic Banyumas colors of deep blue and shades of brown on a cream ground. Mirrored end to end, the unusual composition is notable for the use of scale and movement to accentuate the kemben format. At each end a water bird standing on one leg in water is animated by a slight tilt, and surrounded by large flowers and lotus leaves. Graceful sprays of smaller flowers lead the eye up the central diamond, and soften its stark graphic lines, while double pairs of large blue butterflies alongside the widest points arrest the movement. Of special note is the characteristic Banyumas combination of bold design with subtle detailing. The dark blue motifs have complex detailing, while the brown ones remain more simple. Two shades of soft brown bridge the strong colors and the cream ground, which is filled with a pattern of light caramel leaf sprays, each ending in a tiny inner cross. Although the design is roughly symmetrical, it shows the variation that is said to make hand-drawn batik alive. The points of the red diamond have a crisp white flowering sprig growing from a mound, and unusual double borders: an inner row of diagonally angled "flames" (cimukirran), and a row of minute boxed circles, echoed in the outer border of dotted bars that enclose the design on all sides, The borders give the design a formal character, and were traditionally believed to protect the centerfield like a fence around a garden. A vivid example of red-centered Banyumas kemben with a strong, distinctive character. This textile belongs to a very special and ancient type known as kain kembangan (flowered cloths), believed to be as old as the preparation and coloring of bark cloth. Kain kembangan have a large, undecorated geometric area in the center that makes an extremely forceful and dramatic effect by contrast with the regular, consistently repeating designs of the surrounding batik, which are calm in nature (Veldhuisen-Djajasoebrata, Weavings of Power and Might, Museum voor Volkenkunde, 1988, 43-45). Kain kembangan were worn as breast-cloths wrapped around the upper body by aristocratic or royal women of the court on ceremonial occasions. Large scale kembangan known as dodot were wrapped as an over-cloth around the hips by both men and women as a cloth of status. Kembangan were also used to cover festival food offerings and miniature ones were part of the sacred offerings and gifts in marriage, circumcision, and house-erecting rites. The colors are fresh and clear, and warm, and the cotton is of high quality, smooth, cool, and with a firm body. A strong example of a classic ceremonial type of batik, in one of the most well-known of Banyumas designs." Excellent condition. 90" x 20".