 Rouffaer reported that the <unk> pattern was already known by the 12th century in Kediri , East Java . He concluded that this delicate pattern could be created only by using the canting , an etching tool that holds a small reservoir of hot wax , and proposed that the canting was invented in Java around that time . The carving details of clothes worn by East Javanese Prajnaparamita statues from around the 13th century show intricate floral patterns within rounded margins , similar to today 's traditional Javanese <unk> or <unk> batik motif . The motif is thought to represent the lotus , a sacred flower in Hindu @-@ Buddhist beliefs . This evidence suggests that intricate batik fabric patterns applied with the canting existed in 13th @-@ century Java or even earlier . 
