Portrait of Yeo Gek Neo

Title

Year/Period

ca. 1915-1920

Region

Singapore

Object Type

handcoloured photographs

Material

colour (pigment), glass (material), ink, paper (fiber product), wood (plant material)

Technique

hand-colouring, photographic printing techniques, photographic processes

Dimension

Gross measurement: 69.0 x 59.0 x 5.0 cm,
Frame size: 63.0 x 46.5 x 3.0 cm,
Image size: 49.0 x 33.0 cm

Accession No.

2021-00086

Collection of

Peranakan Museum

Credit Line

Gift of Dr Angeline Khoo in memory of her grandparents

This photograph features nyonya Yeo Gek Neo wearing a long, loose-fitting tunic known as a baju panjang fastened with large kerosang (brooches commonly found in sets of three). Her ears are adorned with diamond earrings and her bun is held in place with hair pins. Yeo Gek Neo was the eldest daughter of Peranakan merchant Yeo Keng Chuan, and the wife of Koh Chong Keng who ran a business as a middleman for British and Chinese merchants. She lived with her husband and children in a bungalow at 11 Dublin Road, Singapore. This portrait, along with that of Koh Chong Keng, hung in the main hall of 11 Dublin Road, and was directly visible to all entering the house.