First, last week's Impressionist and Modern Art auctions and next month's Turner WaterColours auction in July are happening in a still white-hot art market.
Batik is dyed by proud craftspeople who draw designs on fabric using dots and lines of hot wax, which resists vegetable and other dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water and repeating if multiple colours are desired.