Fabric of Enchantment: Batik from the North Coast of Java

Lovely contents

This book is one of the best books I have found on Indonesian batiks. After reviewing it at the Library of Congress, I had to buy it. But don't buy it if you are looking for a coffee-table book.

This looks like it was a killer exhibit at LACMA (1996-97) but the catalog is a real letdown: I don't think I saw more than 4 full-page photos in the whole book. Page after page of text with little squinty photos, most 1/4 page or less, and not very good color fidelity.I don't know what the authors were thinking, but their idea of a good catalog is a lot different than mine. Yours too, I bet. 2.6 stars, & that's being generous, as there isn't much else available for North Coast batiks. You won't get much appreciation for how spectacular these pieces are, here.In fairness, the writeups (which I just skimmed) seem good, so there is some good information here. But a catalog is intended to be a visual record of an exhibition. This one fails that task, imo.Happy reading, squinty viewing (*sigh*)Peter D. Tillman