Enquiry about object: 5908
Peranakan Lady’s Beaded Purse
Peranakan People, Straits Settlements or West Sumatra, Indonesia circa 1920
width when opened out: 14.5cm, length: 10cm
Provenance
private collection, England
This purse intended for a peranakan (localised Chinese) lady most probably in West Sumatra is decorated on both sides with multi-coloured glass seed beads, arrayed as flowers. The interior is lined with light-blue satin.
The purse opens out and has a compartment on each side.
The beads have been stitched one by one and are larger than the rocaille beads usually used by the Straits Chinese and peranakan Chinese.
The purse is n very good condition with minimal losses.
References
Cheah, H.F., Phoenix Rising: Narratives in Nyonya Beadwork from the Straits Settlements, NUS Press, Singapore, 2010.
Cheah, H.F, Nyonya Needlework: Embroidery and Beadwork in the Peranakan World, Asian Civilisations Museum, 2017.
Ee, R., et al, Peranakan Museum A-Z Guide, Asian Civilisations Museum, 2008.
Ho, W.M., Straits Chinese Beadwork & Embroidery: A Collector’s Guide, Times Books International, 1987.
Khoo, J.E., The Straits Chinese: A Cultural History, The Pepin Press, 1996.
Tan, H., Sumatra: Isle of Gold, Asian Civilisations Museum, 2010.
