This is one half of the ancestor portraits of a Peranakan Chinese couple from Penang, judging from how the hairpins have been worn by the Nonya or Peranakan lady. The photos are still mounted in their original frame but it is not known who the couple is. Such portraits were hung in the halls of Peranakan homes to commemorate revered ancestors. They were usually taken shortly after marriage, then kept in storage and hung up only after the subjects were deceased.
