Tan Beng Guat (1841–1892) and a child

Title
Tan Beng Guat (1841–1892) and a child
Year/Period
around 1894-1898
Region
Singapore
Material
Dimension
Frame size: 81.3 x 67.8 x 3 cm,
Image size: 52.5 x 41.8 cm,
Image size: 77.5 x 64 cm (Mount size)
Accession No.
2013-00989
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mr and Mrs Lee Kip Lee

According to local knowledge, this photograph features a descendent of Tan Kim Seng, and a child. Tan Kim Seng was a highly regarded merchant and philanthropist of Singapore, contributing to major public works and schools in Singapore and serving as a leader of the community in various capacities including Justice of the Peace (1850).This photo is part of a large group of framed photographs which provides important visual documentation of the fashion, studio photography and lifestyle of Peranakans of the Straits Settlements and Indonesia in the late 19th to mid 20th centuries. Studio photography possibly reached Singapore and the region in the mid 1800s, and Peranakans were among the earliest clients.