This gilded silver hair ornament would have likely have been a decoration for a bridal hairpin. The ornament is made in the shape of a phoenix, which is an important symbol of the empress and the bride in the context of the wedding. Hairpins like this would have been made for Peranakan women in the Straits Settlements to be worn as part of a wedding headdress. A Peranakan bride would tie her hair into a bun or sanggul and individual hairpins would have been stuck in to create a headdress. This hairpin is part of a set that comes from the collection of the family of prominent philanthropists and businessmen, Tan Kim Seng and Tan Jiak Kim.
