Wax Batik

Batik is an ancient art that had for long been practised in India, Egypt, China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and African countries. The most highly developed art of Batik is of Java, Indonesia. In India, Batik is done in Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal (Kolkata), Andhra Pradesh (Kalamkari Batik), Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh.

In India, the roots of Batik can be traced to the 1st century AD. Batik slowly died over a period of time. Revival of Batik began in 20th century when University of Shantiniketan introduced it as a subject. Batik is a resist dyeing process – a three stage process of waxing, Dyeing and de-waxing. Wax is stamped / splashed / drawn on to the fabric. The fabric is then dyed. The waxed area resists the dye. Wax is later removed by boiling the dyed fabric. The unique characteristic of batik are the fine lines that are formed when the wax cracks and allows small amounts of the dye to seep in.

So how do you know if your batik is fake? Check the reverse side of the fabric. The original batiks will have the same pattern on both the sides. Fake on the other hand is only a print done on one side of the fabric.