Phoenix Rising

Phoenix Rising
Author: Hwei-Fe'n Cheah
Publisher:
Total Pages: 410
Release: 2010
Genre: Art
ISBN:

Using Nyonya beadwork as both a lens and an object of study, Hwei-Fe'n Cheah explores historical, social and cultural transformations in the Peranakan Chinese community. Phoenix Rising provides social scientists with tangible tools for examining concepts of modernity and tradition. For gender theorists, Phoenix Rising exemplifies the way time was used for beadwork and embroidery, thus crafting notions of Nyonya culture and identity. The reader is simultaneously taken on two journeys, the one pictorial, the other analytic, to learn about the changing ways in which meaning intersects with items of material culture---historically and currently. The combination is a visually and intellectually exciting example of multi-disciplinary research that is also aesthetically stunning. Barbara Leigh Adjunct Professor, University of Technology Sydney --

A Peranakan Legacy

A Peranakan Legacy
Author: Peter Wee
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2011-11-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 9814677531

A Peranakan Legacy captures the rich heritage of a fast disappearing way of life and put on record many traditions and practices which were previously handed only down from generation to generation. The term ‘Baba’ is used to refer to the Straits-born Chinese or Peranakans. The Babas boast a unique culture and way of life that is an amalgamation of Chinese and Malay customs and etiquette. Their culture is perhaps best captured in the beautiful clothing, stunning jewellery, pretty porcelain and other artefacts used in daily living. Girls were taught, from a young age, how to cook a variety of elaborate meals as well as crafts such as beading and embroidery. The result is a rich legacy of splendid kebayas (embroidered blouses), beadwork and various other items. Through lavish, full-colour photographs of Peranakan artefacts and clothing, this book explains the origins of the various customs and traditions. While some customs are still practiced today, other more complicated ones have disappeared as modern babas adapted to contemporary lifestyles which are deemed more convenient and practical.

Asian Material Culture

Asian Material Culture
Author: Marianne Hulsbosch
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2009
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9089640908

This richly illustrated volume offers the reader unique insight into the materiality of Asian cultures and the ways in which objects and practices can simultaneously embody and exhibit aesthetic and functional characteristics, as well as everyday and spiritual aspirations. Though each chapter is representative, rather than exhaustive, in its portrayal of Asian material culture, together they clearly demonstrate that objects are entities that resonate with discourses of human relationships, personal and group identity formations, ethics, values, trade, and, above all, distinctive futures.

The Straits Chinese

The Straits Chinese
Author: Joo Ee Khoo
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1996
Genre: Art
ISBN:

Geschiedenis van Chinese kooplieden die zich vestigden in Maleisie aan de Straat van Malakka

Peranakan Chinese Home

Peranakan Chinese Home
Author: Ronald G. Knapp
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 486
Release: 2013-03-10
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 1462911854

Discover the rarified Peranakan (native-born Chinese of Southeast Asia) aesthetics that are today highly sought-after for their beauty: distinctive furniture and ceramics, textiles and jewelry, and many other art objects. Peranakan Chinese Home displays these extraordinary objects, visible markers of a highly developed culture. The broad range of beautiful objects which the Peranakan Chinese created and enjoyed in their daily lives is astounding. Each chapter in The Peranakan Chinese Home focuses on a different area and presents objects used or found in those spaces. Each piece is described in the context of their utility as household objects, as part of periodic celebrations to mark the Chinese New Year and other holidays, or in important life passage rituals relating to ancestor worship, birth, marriage, mourning and burial. The meaning of the rich symbolic and ornamental motifs found on the objects is discussed in detail and key differences are highlighted between Peranakan objects and similar ones found in China. A fascinating mix of Chinese, European and Southeast Asian influences, the distinctly Peranakan identity of a people and their culture is beautifully portrayed through objects and archival photographs in this lovely and exotic book.

The Straits Chinese House

The Straits Chinese House
Author: Peter Lee
Publisher: Didier Millet,Csi
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN:

The Straits Chinese or Peranakan community is perhaps one of the oldest overseas Chinese communities in history, having established itself in the Malay archipelago as early as the seventeenth century.

Peranakan Chinese Porcelain

Peranakan Chinese Porcelain
Author: Kee Ming-Yuet
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 716
Release: 2012-05-29
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 1462906931

With over 800 unique photographs, this Chinese art book is a feast for the eyes. Produced exclusively for wealthy Chinese communities along the Strait of Malacca in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Peranakan Chinese porcelain is enjoying a resurgence of interest among collectors. Straits-born Chinese, or Peranakans, in Penang, Malacca and Singapore, used this ornate and colorful enamelware on festive occasions such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and Chinese New Year. Peranakan Chinese Porcelain is richly illustrated and includes key information on reign marks and factory marks. In-depth discussion of the motifs, colors, forms and functions of Peranakan Chinese ceramics makes this an invaluable reference. Supporting photographs and text introduce related aspects of Peranakan culture including architecture, dress, cuisine and customs, making Peranakan Chinese Porcelain a wonderful contribution to the history of the Straits Chinese.