HUNGARIAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEACH PUPILS BATIK PAINTING TECHNIQUES

Jakarta, Oct 2 (ANTARA) - Public schools in Hungary teach their pupils Indonesian batik painting techniques as the craft was introduced in the East European country as early as the 17th century, Indonesian diplomats in Hungary learned.
The disclosure was made by Atilla Birkas, an official of the Vesprem Museum during a visit to the museum by Indonesian Ambassador to Hungary Mangasi Sihombing on Thursday (Oct 2), according to a statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Budapest.
"The technique of making batik cloth was brought to Hungary by German immigrants," the embassy's first secretary for socio-cultural affairs , Arena Sri Victoria, said in the statement quoting Birkas.
"In Hungary, the technique of making batik cloth is known as 'kekfesto', which means printed batik. The color dominating printed batik cloth in Hungary is blue," she said.
Ambassador Sihombing also visited a textile museum and a blue batik museum in Papa managed by a Hungarian children's art gallery.
In the 17th century, some European countries banned batik cloth because batik was considered a competitor to other textile products.
However, the entry of batik cloth into European markets was unstoppable because VOC (Dutch United Trading Company) ships kept on bringing batik cloth to the Netherlands.
"In 2009, Hungary's Textile Museum and Blue Batik Museum Foundation will held an International Quilt Competition and Exhibition," said Victoria.