Christmas wrapping paper (1)

This rather garish piece of wrapping paper has an obvious Christmas theme. Although it is fragmentary, one can easily make up the pattern of baubles and snowflakes.
  This pattern may very well have been cobbled together from an assemblage of stock art, overlaid over one another. It looks crude, and childish. But, as you can see, it has protected a present well. If that's the case, who are we to judge? 

Indonesian blankbook (2)

Another Indonesian Blankbook. This blankbook was purchased from the same shop as the one featured here. Like its cousin, it is also printed in the same muted palate of brown, black and yellow. 

This pattern bears a resemblance to the parang , or sword motifs of traditional batik. These patterns typically symbolize victory. The paper on this blankbook bears a particular resemblance to the Parang barong, a pattern associated with Royalty.

Indonesian blankbook (1)

The Indonesians love of pattern and ornament is evident throughout their county. For one, Indonesia is a country famed for its patterned cloth, or Batik. Charmingly, patterns associated with batik are even used on the covers of blankbooks.
 Here is one such example. It was purchased in Yogjakarta in 2014. It was clearly of older stock. It is a subdued pattern, in black, yellow and brown. Nonetheless, the fine printing conveys all the genius of the batik-painter's art on the paper.