This jacket represents the batik technique, which is recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Batik is created by drawing designs on fabric using hot wax, which resists vegetable and other dyes, before soaking the cloth in dye, resulting in selective areas of coloration. The wax is then removed with boiling water and the processed repeated with other dyes if desired. It is central to Indonesian culture, both practically and symbolically. The textiles is used in almost every part of life, from babies’ swaddling clothes to funerary shrouds, puppet theatre, carpets, weddings and royal ceremony.

Presented to King Charles III when Prince of Wales by the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, M. Jusuf Kalla, 2015.