Concentric Circle Patterns in The Visual Etiket Of Surakarta Laweyan Batik Before 1970

Abstract

The Surakarta Laweyan batik etiket was born as an effort to gain legitimacy in the community. The actions of these Laweyan batik agents began to appear around the 1930s on the background of social, political, economic and cultural dynamics. Laweyan batik etiket emerged with the tendency of concentric circle visual patterns. This pattern is seen in the visual structure of most of the batik etiket of Surakarta Laweyan. The concentric circle pattern is a characteristic pattern that is unique to Laweyan batik etiket, this is related to the views and thoughts of Javanese society in general. Batik etiket is interpreted as a form of actualization of batik producers in their respective regions. Batik etiket as a cultural product is not only a personal expression but also a representation of social order. In a broader scope, cultural products become cultural markers in a particular society. The research focused on the tendency of the visual pattern of Laweyan batik etiket. The research object is limited to batik etiket before the 1970s. The objective of this research is to reveal the meaning of the concentric circle pattern in the visual arrangement of Laweyan batik etiket in the pre-1970s. This research is a qualitative research using a cultural approach, referring to the theory (philosophy) of Javanese culture. Data collection techniques used are documentation, in-depth interviews and sampling techniques. The analysis technique used is a qualitative data analysis interaction model using a Javanese cultural approach. The result of this research is a pattern of concentric circles reminiscent of the spatial pattern of the Mataram era. This pattern is similar in shape to the Mandala concept in the Hindu cosmological system.

Keywords: concentric circles, batik etiket, Surakarta Laweyan

DOI: 10.7176/ADS/93-04

Publication date:May 31st 2021