Pair of footstools

Title

Pair of footstools

Year/Period

Early 20th century

Region

Singapore

Object Type

footstools (stools), wedding furniture

Material

wood (plant material), lacquer (material), gilding (material), velvet (fabric weave), glass (material), beads (material)

Technique

woodworking, lacquering, gilding (technique), sewing (needleworking technique), glassworking, beading (process)

Dimension

Object size: 38.0 x 29.5 x 19.5 cm,
Object size: Refer to parts

Accession No.

2023-00316

Collection of

Peranakan Museum

Each of these bangku kaku kahwen (ceremonial wedding footstools) features a phoenix in a lobed panel surrounded by auspicious symbols including peonies, butterflies and deer. The motifs are worked in glass seed beads. Such footstools were always made in pairs. As most were commissioned, no two pairs were identical. They were usually regarded as heirlooms and only used during weddings of family members. The practice of placing the bride’s and bridegroom’s feet on bangku kaki kahwen while they were seated can probably be attributed to the Malay raja sehari custom, where the bride and bridegroom were treated like royalty on their wedding day.