Java, circa 1860
by Woodbury and Page

Batik is a dyeing technique that creates rich and higly intricate patterns on fine fabrics by applying wax to regions of a cloth that the artist wants to remain undyed. Believed to have originated in Egypt over 1500 years ago, the art form was perfected by the Javanese during the 19th century. This image, taken by the English partnership of Woodbury and Page, shows a young woman from the island of Java using a canting (sometimes called a wax pen) during one of the numerous wax/dye stages that are performed to create a finished batik.