Title
Pair of Ancestor Portraits
Year/Period
Late 19th or early 20th century
Region
Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca and Penang)
Dimension
Object size: Refer to parts
Accession No.
2013-00518
Collection of
This pair of unsigned, painted portraits depicts a Peranakan Chinese couple mounted in their original frames. Such portraits were usually hung in the halls of traditional Peranakan homes to commemorate revered ancestors.The man is dressed in a Western-style suit, which was worn as formal attire of Peranakan men in the early 20th century. The woman is dressed in Chinese-style clothing, with a Mandarin Collar, which was also what Peranakan women wore on formal occasions. Her hair is pulled up high and wound tightly in a sanggul (bun). The couple’s dressing reflects the multiple streams of influence that was present within the Peranakan community during the early 20th century.
