Portrait of Ho Kim Teik

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.

2022-00049

Collection of

Peranakan Museum

Credit Line

Gift of Mr Bobby Ho Eng Hean

This is a portrait of Mr Ho Kim Teik (1887–1978), the second son of Mr Ho Tiang Wan (1847–1914), a businessman in Penang trading in pepper and opium in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his wife Mdm Quah Keat Sim. The portrait is of an unusual form, with the photograph superimposed on a mirror which is etched with decorative Chinese motifs of birds and flowers.Mr Ho Kim Teik wears a Western-style suit in this portrait. He had a business trading in rubber and owned 4 rubber plantations in Penang, Province Wellesley, and Kuala Lumpur. He also owned racehorses and was the founder and chairman of Georgetown Motor Garage Ltd.This portrait was part of a set of four portraits which were commissioned by Mr Ho Kim Teik.