1 box of orange beads

The box contains a string of orange beads and loose beads. These glass seed beads were known as charlottes or cut beads and were characterised by their flat sides. Nyonya beaded pieces were predominantly made using charlottes, whose flat sides catch the light to create an alluring effect. The label on the box reads ‘Società Commissionaria OraieLd Singapore, N.171 Simili Gold’. Società Commissionaria Orientale was a Milanese company with branches in Singapore, Penang, Batavia, Semarang and Surabaya. It traded in haberdashery.Examples in this group demonstrate the variety of colours, thread and bead types available to embroiderers in Penang and Singapore.

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