Portrait of Quah Keat Sim

Title

Year/Period

Early 20th century

Region

Penang

Object Type

gelatin silver prints

Material

teak (wood), metallized glass, silver gelatin paper, photographic gelatin

Technique

gelatin silver process, photographic processes, etching (corroding)

Dimension

Frame size: 100.0 x 75.0 x 4.0 cm,
Frame size: 100.0 x 74.5 x 3.5 cm,
Image size: 86.0 x 60.0 cm

Accession No.

2022-00048

Collection of

Peranakan Museum

Credit Line

Gift of Mr Bobby Ho Eng Hean

This is a portrait of Mdm Quah Keat Sim, the wife of Mr Ho Tiang Wan (1847–1914) who was a businessman in Penang trading in pepper and opium in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The portrait is of an unusual form, with the photograph superimposed on a mirror etched with decorative Chinese motifs of birds and flowers.Mdm Quah Keat Sim is wearing a long, loose-fitting tunic known as a baju panjang fastened with kerosang (brooches commonly found in sets of three). Her ears are adorned with diamond earrings and her hair is pulled back into a bun held in place with hairpins.This portrait was part of a set of four portraits commissioned by her second son, Mr Ho Kim Teik.