This is part of an unsewn beaded slipper or “Kasut Manek”. The decorative motifs depict a European girl in a blue and pink frock half kneeling in a garden of flowers. Next to her is her dog in shades of white and pink. Such designs suggest the colonial influence on the Peranakan community in the 20th century. These motifs are created using colourful glass seed or Rocaille beads, also referred to by the Peranakans as “Manek Kacha”. Such beads could have been imported from Europe and were sold locally to households by the travelling haberdasher known to Nonyas as the “klengtong man”. The beads are stitched onto the base cotton fabric using bead embroidery or threading, which is a technique where coloured seed beads are stitched onto a base fabric using needle and thread.
