The dressing table is built up on eight claw-on-ball feet and divided into a tripartite structure with a raised table top in the middle. Delicately carved openwork forms the apron, crowns the mirror, and adorns its sides and glass cabinet doors.From the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, teak furniture made from a combination of European and Chinese designs was most popular among the Peranakans. Dressing tables incorporating a mirror, such as this example, developed from the red-and-gold namwood dressers used by previous generations of nyonyas. Teak itself was not native to the Straits Settlements and was often imported in large quantities from Thailand and Myanmar.The dressing table came to the donor from her husband, Chua Sian Chin, whose parents received it on the occasion of their wedding in Malacca on 17 July 1926.
