Title
Kebaya
Year/Period
1930s to 1940s
Region
Found in Singapore
Material
Dimension
Object size: 80.8 x 126.0 cm
Accession No.
2017-01073
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Lilian Nguyen Warwick
This pink kebaya is decorated with large roses, a popular motif in the mid-20th century. The roses were sewn using a drawn thread embroidery technique known in West Sumatra as trawang pahat, or chiseled openwork. Pieces of the threads were drawn out of the fabric and the remaining thread re-stitched to create the open-hole patterns in the rose motifs. Kebaya was the Peranakan women’s garment of choice in the early to mid-20th century, although it was also worn by non-Peranakan women. This piece was donated by a Chinese-Vietnamese lady who bought them in Singapore shops and wore them in the 1980’s and 1990’s in London.
