An extremely rare Royal Indonesian Dodot Mas or ceremonial skirt cloth 

 

Yogyakarta, circa 1910

​

Cotton resit-dyed by batik wax process in natural dyes and gold leaf, prada.

H. 315 x W. 210 cm

 

This enormous textile, Indonesia’s largest traditional dress, consists of two lengths of cloth sewn together, painted and gilded all by hand. A dodot this seize takes over a year to make. The plain white lozenge in the centre symbolizes purity and creation, and when the white is without decoration the cloth is called bango boetak “the bald-headed bango bird”.

The dodot is worn exclusively by the ruler or the higher aristocrats for formal rituals such as crownings and marriages. The higher in rank, the more of the trousers under the dodot may be shown from the front and the more the Godot may trail over the ground behind the wearer. The dodot is worn in a thick fold around the middle, leaving the upper part of the body bare.