Running until Dec. 31, the museum’s latest temporary exhibition, KukuruYUK!: Ragam Motif Ayam Dalam Batik Indonesia (KukuruYUK!: Various chicken motifs in Indonesian batik), explores how this humble bird has been depicted in batik across regions and eras.

“The idea first came up when we were exploring the museum’s collection to see which animals appear in batik,” curator Swa Adinegoro said at the exhibition opening on Oct. 20. “To our surprise, we found so many chicken patterns in different forms and styles.”

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According to Swa, chicken motifs are widespread because the bird is a familiar presence throughout the archipelago.

The exhibition showcases 26 batik pieces from across Indonesia, spanning from the 1950s to the present day. Twenty-four of them come from the museum’s own collection, while two are on loan from private collectors.

Museum Batik Indonesia houses around 900 batik pieces, ranging from the early 1900s to the present. Across its seven galleries, visitors trace Indonesia’s batik heritage through an extensive collection of batik pieces, with canting tools, copper stamps, wax blocks and natural dyes offering a glimpse into the craft.

At the far end of the gallery, mannequins dressed in regal Dodotan-style attire in deep sogan brown evoke the quiet grandeur of Javanese courts.

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