The Living Heritage Gallery
The Hands Behind The Cloth
Forty-two master artisan families across four central districts. Explore our wax-resist dyeing vats, canting tool techniques, and living motif archives.
Freehand Tjanting Wax Drawing
Nimal Jayawardena · Matale
Artisans
fullscreen
Nimal Jayawardena · Matale
Freehand Tjanting Wax Drawing
Nimal draws sacred temple-mural foliage from memory using a molten beeswax tjanting pen. He has practised for nineteen years without ever using a stencil.
The Ancient Fermented Indigo Vat
Kusum Ratnayake · Kandy
Dye Process
fullscreen
Kusum Ratnayake · Kandy
The Ancient Fermented Indigo Vat
Our mother vat has been fed continuously since 1987 with wild indigo leaves, jaggery, and limestone. Every new dyer learns the alchemy of the first dip under Kusum.
Crackle Resist & Selvedge Inspection
Master Dyers Studio · Kandy
Motifs
fullscreen
Master Dyers Studio · Kandy
Crackle Resist & Selvedge Inspection
As the wax fractures under pressure in the cold dye bath, fine vein-like cracks emerge. This organic marble texture is the incontrovertible signature of true handmade batik.
Sun-Drying on the River Banks
Sunethra Silva · Galle
Dye Process
fullscreen
Sunethra Silva · Galle
Sun-Drying on the River Banks
Lengths of virgin cotton are soaked in natural river water and sun-bleached on grass before receiving their initial charcoal guide lines.
Peacock & Sacred Lotus Border
Sunethra Silva · Galle
Motifs
fullscreen
Sunethra Silva · Galle
Peacock & Sacred Lotus Border
Responsible for the most requested archival border motif, drawn from woodcarvings of the Embekke Devalaya in the Central Province.
Boiling the Pure Beeswax Away
Kandy Dye House Guild
Dye Process
fullscreen
Kandy Dye House Guild
Boiling the Pure Beeswax Away
Boiling water releases the wax, which floats to the surface and is skimmed off to be filtered and reused in the next creation cycle.
Artisan Handcrafted
Explore Collection
arrow_forward
Available Now from These Hands