Peranakan Chinese window

• Small Sino-Indonesian two-body display case, decorated with carved and gilded foliage on red lacquer, the upper part of the display case is hand-painted with lotus flowers.
• Display cases like this one, from Palembang, Indonesia, were used by the region’s Peranakan Chinese in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were probably offered to the bride and groom as part of their wedding trousseau.
• Two very similar examples are on display at the Peranakan Museum in Singapore.
• Provenance: Claude de Marteau Collection .
• H 160 CM X D 42.5 CM X W 102 CM.
• Useful display case 21 CM.
• Useful cabinet depth 34 CM.
• A small gap at the top of the display case, normal wear and tear (see photo).

The Peranakan or Chinese of the Straits (The Baba-Nyonya(峇峇娘惹), are the descendants of the first Chinese immigrants, between the xiv^e century and the xvii^e century, settled in Pondicherry, Malaysia, Indonesia or the Philippines, adopting their customs to the local culture.

The first Baba-Nyonya were the result of marriages between Chinese merchants and Malay, Burmese or Indonesian women, and in Java, the term Peranakan refers to communities of Chinese mixed with locals.