Photo: Jean Demmeni/Leiden University
Three women were making batik in a batik workshop in Yogyakarta around 1911. This batik workshop only made batik for the Yogyakarta Palace.
To maintain the authority of the sultan and the palace, regulations were made regarding prohibition of batik, there were patterns that were forbidden to be used by ordinary people. There were batik patterns that were specifically designated for certain circles, including for the sultan and the crown prince.
Thus, the authority of the sultan could be preserved because he didn't wore the same clothes as ordinary people. The same thing can also be found in various past kingdoms, there were certain types of clothes or colors that can only be worn by the royal family to show their power in front of the people.
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