Fashion: An essential factor influencing the development of 19th to 20th centuries Peranakan decorative motifs

Abstract

Peranakan, also called Baba Nyonya, are often defined by anthropologists as the offspring of Chinese fathers (from the 15th Century Ming marine trade expeditions) and local Malay mothers. The Eclectic style of Peranakan culture is a precious example of cross-cultural integration between countries, which reached its peak in the 19th and 20th centuries. The culture of Peranakan permeates all aspects of life, such as language, religion, food style, social rituals, architecture and material culture, and in many of these aspects, there is the use of decorative motifs. The hybrid identity of the Peranakan has long been recognized as an essential factor influencing the development of Peranakan decoration. However, under the influence of the booming trade in Eurasia, fashion also gradually became an important factor influencing the development of native Chinese decorative motifs in the 19th and 20th centuries. As the research is drawn from the past, this study employs the logic and methodology of comparative historical research. By comparing the different responses of European, local Southeast Asian, Chinese, and Peranakan decorative patterns to the Chinoiserie fashion event, it is determined that fashion has influenced the development of native Chinese decorative patterns. The interpretation is based on Simmel’s philosophy of fashion.

Keywords:

• Peranakan
• Cultural Fusion
• Fashion
• Chinoiserie

1. Introduction

Peranakans are generally known as Straits Chinese or Nyonyas (the term for Peranakan Ladies) and Babas (the term for Peranakan men). The origins of this community are said to date back to the 15th century when Chinese merchants lived as immigrants in the Malay and Indonesian islands (including modern Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia). As Chinese law did not allow female immigration until 1859, these traders from China formed new families with local women, and the Peranakan were their mixed-race offspring. The Peranakan has left behind a rich cultural heritage, much of which has survived in the form of historical artefacts that are extremely rich in decorative motifs and have excellent research value. The rich decorative motifs are strongly linked to the mixed community character of the Peranakan and their location in a trading centre. Firstly, the Peranakan are a combination of Chinese immigrants and local women, and the community follows a mixture of Chinese and local customs that significantly enriches the culture of the community (S. K. Lee, 2008). As well as being mixed, colonial elements also influenced the cultural richness of the Peranakan. Since the 16th century, the colonial powers in Malacca influenced the habits and lifestyle of the Peranakan, firstly the Portuguese, then the Dutch and eventually the British. They have adapted to a fusion composition of Western lifestyles and local customs while maintaining traditional customs and practices from China (Yong et al., 2015). The latter half of the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century saw the development of the Peranakan enter a heyday influenced by a complex environment (T. Lee, 2016). Therefore, the interpretation of the Peranakan decorative motifs cannot be separated from studying the contexts behind them.

The study of the Peranakan’s decorative arts can be considered an integral part of the study of their culture.The rich cultural connotations of the Peranakan are reflected in the decorative motifs preserved through objects such as clothing, utensils and buildings. Becker (1974) defines artistic activity as a part of human activity, the cultural activity of the human organism. That is, the act of art can be a production for human life. In his seminal work “The Interpretation of Cultures”, Geertz (1973) summarises culture as “a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms”. He explains that culture is “semiotic”, meaning that the exploration of Peranakan culture can be explored through decorative motifs, which means that the study of decorative motifs and culture go hand in hand. Both of them need to be interpreted in a particular context.

The decorative motifs of the Peranakan are wealthy and contain a wealth of multi-ethnic traits as well as traces of history. The interpretation of these motifs cannot be separated from the context of the period. In the current literature, most studies on the reasons for forming Peranakan decorative motifs have focused on the hybrid identity of the Peranakan. In fact, fashion, influenced by the globalization of the seafaring trade, became an important factor influencing the development of the decorative motifs of the Peranakan in the 19th and 20th centuries. As Simmel describes fashion, on the one hand, people have the desire to be the same, to be in line with a target reference group that they identify with. On the other hand, there is a desire to be different, to stand out and distance oneself from the lower-ranking groups that one despises. This is evident in the decorative motifs of the Peranakan of this period. At the same time, it also reflects that Peranakan wants to find his place in identity in a changing environment.

In this research, we adopt a comparative historical approach to verify that fashion is an important variable influencing the development of Peranakan decorative styles. First, we will review the hybrid aesthetic component of local aesthetics in Southeast Asia from the 15th century onwards. From the 15th to 20th centuries, Southeast Asia was the largest distribution centre for goods between Europe and Asia. From the 15th century onwards, the European style was sought after by aristocratic circles in Southeast Asia, and the resulting eclectic European style may even be considered a local style (Shaffer, 2018). As a result, the European style favoured by the Peranakan has always existed in South East Asia and is recognized and sought after as a fashionable style. This background provided the ground for the formation of the eclectic style of the Peranakan. Secondly, we explore the possibility that some of the Chinese-inspired decorative styles of the Peranakan came from European fashions. In this section, we first introduce the Chinoiserie (i.e. European interpretations and imitations of China), which Europe initiated. Then, we explore the situation of the Parsi community in India, which is similar to the Peranakan is also skilled in trade and affluent. As a local community in South East Asia, the latter is also interested in this not-so-pure Chinese style, and they order a large number of items in China with a Chinese style. These items are an eclectic Chinoiserie, and their customisation is to show off their fashion tastes. Finally, in the eclectic decorative motifs of the Peranakan, we have confirmed that some of the decorations used by the Peranakan are Chinoiserie and that the reason for their use is fashion.

Research Question

1. How did the decorative motifs of the Peranakan form a distinctive, eclectic style influenced by various factors, and one of the significant reasons is fashion?

2. How did fashion influence the development of Peranakan decorative motifs in the 19th and 20th centuries?

2. Material and methods

This study references the comparative historical research method proposed by Theda Skocpol in her revolutions study. This method allows the researcher to compare historical data, which may reveal deep regularities, or relationships between different regions, that statistical averages across the region cannot reveal (Tilly, 1984). Chinoiserie was one of many artistic events between the 18th to 20th centuries and significantly impacted art in both the East and West. Notably, because the style is a commercial misinterpretation of Chinese style and does not have much aesthetic value, it was not used by the Chinese, although the Chinese living in China produced many objectives decorated in Chinoiserie. It was only produced for export to be used by people in other countries, mainly Europeans. However, there is evidence from numerous material heritages of the Peranakan’s pursuit of the Chinoiserie. Following the lead of Wallerstein (1974), this study takes the fashion event of “Chinoiserie” out of individual countries and transfers it to the world system as a whole for analysis. There is a substantial overlap between Chinoiserie and the real Chinese styles. Further, as a hybrid community, the Peranakan’s Chinese origins often allow people to overlook these subtle differences. Since the subject of study is from the past, this study will use the research method of comparative historical research to determine the correlation between hypothetical causes and influences. This study will use Chinoiserie as an entry point for research to determine the impact of fashion as a hypothetical cause of fashion on the development of the Peranakan decorative motifs by comparing the reactions of people from different cultural communities to fashion events in the same history. Firstly, develop a hypothesis that fashion may have been an important factor influencing the development of Peranakan decorative motifs in the 19th-20th century. Secondly, to collect historical information on the 19th-20th century with the decorative motifs of the native Chinese, focusing on the different responses of European, local Southeast Asian, Chinese, and native Chinese decorative motifs to the fashion event of Chinoiserie. Thirdly, use what Theda Skocpol calls “interpretive historical sociology” and examine the similarities and the differences.Finally, based on the information gathered, explain fashion’s significant influence on developing Chinese-Turkish decorative motifs.

Qualitative data was obtained for this study through written sources from archives and literature in the form of books, magazines and newspapers. The archival and library materials are located at the National Archives of Malaysia, the National Library of Malaysia, the Baba& Nyonya Heritage Museum in Melaka, and the Pinang Peranakan Mansion in Penang.

2.1 Eclecticism in the local communities of Southeast Asia

An exploration of the aesthetics of the Peranakan must be inseparable from an exploration of the eclectic aesthetic situation of the indigenous people of South East Asia in which they live, and most of the Peranakans live in both Indonesia and Malaysia. These two regions have many communities of Peranakan, who are often related and mostly come from several of the same provinces in China (Pue & Shamsul, 2011). In both regions, the use of eclecticism seems to date back to the 15th century, and they even suggest that Javanese culture was actually shaped by the process of mixing with other cultures with Western objects brought by the Portuguese, English and Dutch enriching the local aesthetic to some extent (Widayat & Mataram, 2019). Exploring the eclectic aesthetic situation of the indigenous communities in these two places helps us understand why the Peranakan developed an eclectic aesthetic.

Eclecticism describes practices that do not strictly adhere to stylistic classifications but rather exhibit eclectic tendencies (Aitken, 2010). The theory of eclecticism provides a context for the research in this chapter. Many theorists have given a similar definition of eclecticism. Hume (1998) defines it simply as “the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them”. Subramanyan (1992) further attributes the formation of an eclectic style to the category of cultural influences, arguing that “the interaction, perhaps reconciliation, of different cultural forms”. In the context of artworks specifically, eclecticism refers to artists who create new works by carefully imitating the work of others, referencing famous compositions, themes and styles (Shaffer, 2018). A characteristic of eclecticism is that its works cannot be defined in terms of a prior style (i.e., they possess an element of invisibility). 19th century was a golden age for eclecticism development when the boom in trade led to an excellent circulation of goods that had been confined to the local area. These exotic goods collided with local culture to produce an eclecticism that not only demonstrates the state of modern multiculturalism but can be an essential tool for cultural renewal (Subramanyan, 1992). This kind of eclectic interaction, in other words, is most meaningful when contact with others activates something in one’s own culture or offers another. And in the process, fashion is used as an intermediary between modes of production and ideological agency facilitating the production of this such cultural behaviour (Calefato, 1997). Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that one of the reasons for the production of eclecticism is the pursuit of fashion. The Eclectic style that emerged in Eurasia was a distinctive decorative style resulting from the flow of trade, a natural response to the pursuit of fashion.

The aesthetics of eclecticism has been applied in Asia and Europe and can aptly reflect the globalised 18th century (Shaffer, 2018). In 1997, Simmel explained this very well in The Philosophy of Fashion. He believes that the ethnic group establishes its internal coherence and its difference from the outside. At the same time, the preference to import fashion from outside is widespread, and in some social circles, imported fashion shows excellent value simply because it is not locally produced. By originating from outside, these imported fashions create a unique, new social fashion leadership by connecting with the general public outside the upper-class circles that import them. Industrialisation, which began in the late 18th century, led to improved communications and transport, contributing to the results of globalisation. As a result, cultures encountered each other in an unprecedented way (Richardson, 2007). It clearly influenced the development of 19th and 20th centuries Peranakans’ motifs. The exquisite handicrafts of the East, such as embroidery, silk, and porcelain, which came to the European continent through trade, were sought after as representing a new kind of fashion (Cheang, 2007).In addition, as the most significant distribution goods centre between Europe and Asia in the 15th to 20th century, the aristocratic circles of Southeast Asia have sought after the European style since the 15th century and may even be considered a local style (Shaffer, 2018). Besides the pursuit of ancient European styles, some of the local communities in Southeast Asia, which had a strong trading economy, pursued European fashions in the 19th and 20th centuries while also customising eclectic items from China to suit their aesthetic (Vatsal, 2013). From the 19th century onwards, influenced by European colonisers and the native Aborigines, Peranakan as an essential part of the Eurasian trade market, produced a remarkable artistic achievement: Straits Eclecticism (Zwain & Bahauddin, 2017).

Widayat and Mataram (2019) believed that the use of eclecticism in Southeast Asia seems to date back to the 15th century. Shaffer (2018) has proposed a similar theory that Rococo and Renaissance styles which became popular in the 18th century, were not only popular with European society but also led to a worldwide fashion chase, including India, Indonesia, and especially Java. Meanwhile, a strong example is the European Renaissance and Rococo style furniture that kings and nobles widely used in the Java region. Shaffer (2018) believes where European cultural influences on the kings and high government officials of Java were powerful in the period before Japan entered Indonesia. So, it was fitting when the Javanese nobility used this furniture. Widayat and Mataram () show in their study that even some imported furniture, as well as items such as horse-drawn carriages, are considered to belong to Javanese cultural heritage. In summary, Southeast Asia’s liberal and mixed aesthetic environment gave a precondition for forming an eclectic aesthetic among the Peranakan.

The Malay Archipelago exhibits a distinctly eclectic aesthetic (Widayat & Mataram, 2019), and Bennett (2021) notes that java culture is a mixture of indigenous, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic and colonial (i.e., European) cultures. Historical records of Indonesia show that the local society during the colonial period was vibrant and constantly engaged with new aesthetic trends and fashions. This is also borne out by Dutch and British accounts of the Indian cloth trade, where preferences for particular patterns and colours changed yearly, often leaving frustrated traders with unsold goods (Barbara Andaya, 1989). Furthermore, Vickers (2013) suggests that Europeans who work in Java should be seen as part of the process of producing cultural expressions of Java. The best example is the Asian headquarters of the the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-in dische Compagnie) (VOC), which was established in 1619 in Batavia (i.e., Jakarta), and it played an essential role in the development of the java style. Local craftsmen made pieces to suit the tastes of VOC patrons, while the island’s court emulated European fashion in dress and decorative arts, including furniture. These Eclecticism cultural imprints have been preserved to this day in the form of furniture, architecture, costumes, and motifs. A piece of historical evidence is that old furniture in the form of tables, chairs and cabinets has been well preserved as heritage in the Palace Kadipaten Mangkunegaran in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia (see Figure 1). The furniture has a distinctly 18th-century European style, also known as Rococo (Widayat & Mataram, 2019).

Figure 1. A chair left by Pakubuwono IV in Surakarta Palace Museum.

Source: indonesiakaya

Javanese society is open to crossing cultural boundaries and embracing new ideas and art forms, maturely negotiating their adoption or adaptation. This hybrid aesthetic does not only occur between the java and Europe, but Indian and Chinese cultures are also often present in the java aesthetic style. In Javanese figurative art of the 18th and 19th centuries, it is often difficult to distinguish whether textiles are of Indian or local origin. Chinese exports to the region also often had an Islamic flavour. Some porcelain vessels decorated with radiating “cloud collar” motifs reveal the inspiration for Islamic metalwork, although such motifs are often thought to be of indigenous Chinese origin (Andrea Natasha, 2014). The evidence above demonstrates that the Java aesthetic is not merely an acceptance and fusion of the cultures of European colonizers but a fusion of multiple cultures following the international fashion trend.

2.2 Chinoiserie and his impact on the local community in South East Asia

Eclecticism did not only take place in South East Asia but in Europe. Chinoiserie, for example, was well-known throughout the 18th century. In the late 19th century, this style made a comeback in different forms. This oriental style did not only have an impact in Europe, but at the same time, they have reverberated back to the East, setting a fashion trend. Some of the more economically developed local communities in South East Asia, similar to the Peranakan community, responded positively to this artistic trend. Exploring the example of the Parsi community helps us to confirm further that some of the material heritage of Chinese origin and decorated with Chinese-like decorations may not represent a consumer’s pursuit of Chinese artistic aesthetics but rather their pursuit of Chinoiserie. This comparison allows for tracing the origins of some of the not purely Chinese-style decorations in the material heritage of the Peranakan. This part of the decoration is often mistakenly attributed to the Peranakan as inherited from their China lineage.

Rococo-Chinoiserie is a European tradition of interpreting and imitating Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions in the 18th century, particularly the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre and music (Retrieved, 2015). This trend first appeared in the 17th century, when the great European powers began monopolising trade in Asia from the 17th century onwards. The East India Company (EIC) was first established by England in 1600, followed by the Netherlands (1602), Denmark (1616), Portugal (1628), France (1664) and Sweden (1731, 1775). The Rococo-Chinoiserie became popular in the 18th century due to the increase in Chinese and Indian goods being shipped to Europe each year through the East India Companies of England, Holland, France and Sweden (Beevers, 2008). If we consider that the Rococo-Chinoiserie is not the original Chinese style but a “Chinese style” that Europe has adapted to fit the European aesthetic, this trend can then be considered to have contributed to the birth of the Asian-European eclectic style. In the case of Guangcai porcelain, which was mainly sold in Europe, for example, the VOC, according to historical material, traded a large quantity of celadon tableware in the 17th century. According to Dutch commercial inventory records, they have 2,000 pieces of Gangcai porcelain at their factory in Mocha, Yemen, and 1,176 pieces at their Masulipatnam factory on the Coromandel coast in southern India. The decorative motifs used do not stop at the traditional Chinese auspicious motifs like flowers, figures and animals but incorporate many European motifs. In particular, applying Western three-dimensional painting techniques to the design of decorative patterns on ceramic surfaces has produced high artistic achievements. In addition, “crest porcelain” also occupied a place in export porcelain, with many European aristocrats requesting that their family crest be decorated in the centre of the porcelain, surrounded by Chinese elements such as landscapes, flowers and animals (see Figure 2). This eclectic style of porcelain which Chinese craftsmen made at the request of European customers, has been extremely popular with the buyers (Haowu, 2018).

Figure 2. A family crest porcelain, Jiaqing, Qing dynasty.

Source: Qingyuan City Museum, Guangdong Province

Meanwhile, Oriental clothing was considered as the most popular offshoot of fancy, extravagant clothing, a way of showing off wealth and ingenuity (Vatsal, 2013). Numerous scholars have confirmed this claim in their studies. Martin and Koda (1994) noted that textiles were seen as decorative and luxurious. Imported textiles from China have led to a fascination with Chinese weaving, hand painting and needlework technical skills. Patricia Mears also mentioned in Definition of Orientalism: The East has been a source of inspiration for fashion designers since the 17th century when Indian, Chinese and Turkish goods first became widely available in Western Europe. It usually refers to Western designers borrowing exotic style conventions from the different cultures that span the Asian continent (Mears, n.d). In “Fashion and Orientalism”, Adam Geczy (2013) argues that almost all textile names derive from Middle Eastern or Asian roots. Fusion fashion differs from the common sense of Orientalism through its organization, composition and reception (Lehnert & Mentges, 2013). The trade boom of the 18th century led to a European understanding of the East and a fascination with aesthetics from the East, which were fused into a distinctively European style—Chinoiserie. In fact, this pursuit of fashion did not only affect Europe, but Guangzhou. For example, on a large porcelain plate exported from Guangzhou, China, with their cave surfaces divided into radiating “cloud collars”, revealed the inspiration for Islamic metalware. The Arabic script on the plates likewise attests to the presence of Muslim calligraphers in the kilns factory of southern China (see Figure 3), where they helped decorate goods designed for Islamic clients for export (Bennett, 2021).

Figure 3. Large dish, with Qur’an verses, 1580–1620, Zhangzhou, Fujian, China.

Source: Bennett (2021), p. 232

In contrast to the well-known 18th-century Chinese style, the Victorian craze for oriental handicrafts profoundly impacted South East Asia and China because of the economic and political context. There is much historical evidence to suggest that Europe had already experienced a wave of “China mania” in the 18th century. By 1790, however, interest in Chinese style and decoration began to wane, and by the end of the 18th century, the importation of Chinese woven silks, lacquerware, fans and even porcelain, which had been shipped to Britain “in the hundreds of thousands” each year, “had dwindled to the level of occasional souvenirs” (Vatsal, 2013, p. 77). However, this pursuit of the Chinese style made a comeback in Britain in the latter half of the 19th century and had a much greater impact. According to Liberty’s historical evidence, Chinese products, particularly ceramics and embroidered silks, continued to be admired and collected. Liberty organised annual exhibitions of embroidered items from around the world every year in the 1880s to meet demand (Adburgham, 1975). Vatsal (2013) attributes the cause of this revival of interest in craft products from the East, which began in the 1860s, to the stimulus of multiple factors: growing international tourism, new photographic techniques, the influence of critics and writers such as Christopher Draper and William Morris, and the great London International Exhibition of 1862, which brought the Victorian British exposed to new and exotic cultures, leading to a massive demand for handicrafts from the East. Cheang (2007, p. 2) mentioned a deeper reason attributes the China craze in 20th century Britain to “An interesting double nostalgia can also be associated with the selling of Chinese things in twentieth-century Britain—nostal gia for the eighteenth-century European Chinamania and also nostalgia for the old China of mandarins and pagodas.” In the face of this resurgence in pursuing exquisite Chinese artefacts in European countries, Vatsal (2013) offers this assessment, although this period saw China move towards a period of decline in feudal society, China may be positioned more paradoxically as both advanced and degenerate. Along with the opening up of trade, the imitation of exotic aesthetics and localised fusion became a new eclectic style, apparently a natural psychological phenomenon in the pursuit of fashion. Of course, the results of eclectic are not always rosy. Cheang (2007), in his analysis of the artist and designer Walter Crane (1845–1915), mentions that Chinese embroidery declined in taste and quality after contact with Western industrially produced goods, the final stage of its decadence being represented by “so-called” Cantonese embroidery to satisfy foreign tastes, which is synonymous with vulgarity. According to Cheang (2007), the problem may lie in over-commercialisation. This may be an inevitable consequence when fine handicrafts collide with industrial production.

Similar to the Peranakan, the Parsis were a community in late 19th century India that relied on the support of colonial rulers to achieve great success in trade and commerce. Among their material heritage are a large number of China-like decorations custom-made in China. Interestingly, the origin of this Chinese style is not China but Europe. Its true name is Chinoiserie. The last decades of the 19th century were the heyday of imperialism. In keeping with the Peranakan community, the Parsi community achieved significant commercial success under the administration of the EIC in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Siddiqi, 1982). Wealthy Parsi women were clearly at the forefront of the fashion chase. The cultural heritage expressed in clothing allows us to find evidence of the period’s eclectic style and aesthetic characteristics. Clothing, an obvious marker of social status, was part of a more comprehensive process by which the Parsis identified with the ruling elite. Parsi women developed a style of dress called garas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that was distinctly different from the other Indian groups in which they lived. Garas were part of a genre of Chinese embroidery made for export in the late Qing dynasty (i.e., 1644–1911) (Vatsal, 2013). It is similar to the Chinese embroidered and trimmed silk shawls exported to Europe and the United States during the same period (Vatsal, 2013). In line with Peranakan men, by the 1870s, upper-class Parsi men had begun to wear full Western dress, at least outside the home (Tarlo, 1996). While Parsi women did not sacrifice tradition, upper-class Parsi women achieved a modern and sophisticated look by discarding specific traditional garments and adding Western fashion elements to their wardrobes (Vatsal, 2013). Notably, the fashion style they are pursuing is not European style in the traditional sense but rather the popular Chinoiserie of the time. Vatsal (2013, p. 82) further explain that:

Chinese embroidered silks were transformed into ‘Parsi’ saris, and garas with their chakla-chakli and cheena-cheeni motifs became the quintessential Parsi garment-one that turned its back on tradition, that was elegant, expensive and above all, exclusive, fitting perfectly with the image the Parsis were creating for themselves as wealthy, progressive and sophisticated members of society.

Moreover, garas is also the perfect compromise between tradition and modernity. It fulfilled the requirements of traditional dress while distancing the Parsi from other, less elegant women. On the other hand, the pursuit of Chinese embroidered fabrics by Parsi women was not a pursuit of Chinese style but precisely because it was the fashion trend in Europe during this period. Vatsal (2013) speculates that Parsi customers selected designs for their garas from generic pattern books used in other Chinese export embroideries, including those shipped to Europe and the USA. According to the author’s conjecture: Many floral and bird motifs, as well as stereotypical Orientalist motifs, appear on Parsi textiles and on tablecloths, shawls, and clothing materials exported to the West, which are not found in Chinese embroidery made for the home market(see Figure 4). In the same way that the eclectic porcelain of the Rococo period has decorative motifs of indefinable origin, the eclectic embroidery on garas also exhibits characteristics that make it difficult to understand its origins. For example, motifs like rooster or fish likely appear on the garas because they were considered auspicious by both the Parsis and the Chinese. And it just so happens that these decorative motifs appear in Chinese export embroidery pattern books. Parsi’s dress heritage is a powerful testament to the eclectic aesthetic of South East Asia as more than just a fusion with European style but a pursuit of European fashion (Vatsal, 2013).

Figure 4. Detail of silk embroidery tunic made in China for the Indian Parsi community, 19th century.

Source: Cheang, S., & Kramer, E., 2021, p. 45

2.3 The pursuit of fashion by the Peranakan

In line with the timing of the Parsis’ pursuit of fashion, the Peranakan have the same conditions to chase fashion (Lee, P., 2014). During 19th to 20th centuries, most of the Peranakan were well off and had a high social status, and the Peranakan community was gradually becoming well-established. As a result, the Peranakan developed an eclectic decorative style, strongly expressed in clothing and porcelain. Amongst these, as a fashion trend that spanned the 18th to 20th centuries, Chinoiserie influenced the Peranakan community. Notably, the Peranakan have accepted this trend not only poorer quality Chinese aesthetics that do not fit the Chinese aesthetic but even forms of decoration that are contrary to the Chinese culture in their lineage.

The pre-19th century Peranakan were limited to some extent by political and economic reasons in their pursuit of fashion. Firstly, like the Chinese, the Nyonya, who are the fashion leaders in their community, have always believed in the mystical quality of textile decoration. The decorative motifs of the textiles they used were often associated with traditions, festivals, religious rituals and deepened qualities (T. Lee, 2016). At the same time, from a political point of view, the pursuit of European fashion by Nyonya was somewhat limited before 1910 because of the laws enacted by the Dutch colonizers that explicitly prohibited the colonized from imitating European dress (Achjadi & Damais, 2005). At last, from an economic point of view, according to the theory of Simmel (1997), the real changes in life are actually caused by the middle class, so that the lower classes have few, though any, fashions that are often not specific to them. This was a period when the Peranakan were in the beginning stages of community building, and the huge blow of several political conflicts left them no time for anything else. Thus, this period gave rise to a popular eclectic aesthetic in the form and style of a combination of localised clothing styles (i.e., salon and kebaya) with decorations that are Chinese in flavour but not Islamic taboos (i.e., figures).

Everything changed in the 19th century. A favourable political and economic environment led the Peranakan to follow European fashion. Evidence of this can be found in the development of dress decoration for Nyonyas. Politically, the colonisers from Britain and the Netherlands gave the Peranakan community the opportunity to operate and grow, which contributed to the peak of the community’s development from the 19th century onward. According to Suryadinata, “In 1910, Wet op het Nederlandsch Onderdaanschap (i.e., the Dutch Nationality Law) was issued, under which the Peranakan were regarded as Dutch subjects” (Leo, 2005, p .11). The Peranakan in the Straits of Malacca was called the “The King’s Chinese” by the British colonists and were treated almost identically to the colonists. The favourable political and economic conditions provided a backdrop for the Peranakan to pursue fashion, and the arrival of European women offered ease of fashion imitation by the Nyonya. From the 19th century, many European women arrived in the java region. According to Lukman et al. (2013), probably due to the hot climate and the fact that the Dutch government did not restrict the dress of Dutch women, Dutch women in the Malay Archipelago also started to wear kebaya. However, the material would be more ornate and more European character. According to history, To distinguish themselves from all the native women who wore the same style, Europeans and Eurasians of European status wore the kebaya with its distinctively European character. From the 19th century onwards, the kebaya became shorter, luxurious white cotton trimmed with lace; the colour was all white, the trim was lace, and there was no embroidery; European motifs were displayed, such as European flowers and animals (see Figure 5). After the Dutch Nationality Law was enacted, the Europeanized sarong kebaya was fiercely imitated by Peranakan women on Java to express their legal equality with the Dutch (T. Lee, 2016). Heringa and Veldhuisen (1996) similarly records this history: Men and women belonging to the leading classes of the Peranakan adopted European dress in certain public situations, especially after 1920, when they were assimilated or declared equal to the Dutch before the law.

Figure 5. Penang Nyonya in Europeanised sarong kebaya, early twentieth century.

Source: Khoo (1996), p. 207

Another strong evidence that fashion is an essential independent variable influencing the choice of decoration by the Peranakan is the fact that they can even accept styles of decoration that are at odds with their own culture. A notable example concerns Nyonya’s acceptance of white kebaya. Veldhuisen (1996, p. 43) states that“the idea of fashion, which in the West had encouraged consumers to cast off wearable items, was introduced into Java by European women at the end of the nineteenth century”. According to Gombrich and Gombrich (1980), the various colours denote different meanings in countries with different cultural backgrounds. Westerners use black for funerals, while the Chinese use white—even though both black and white are colours in the colourless system. The Dutch women of the Java region preferred to use plain white kebaya, which the Peranakan accepted, even though it represented bereavement in Chinese culture. They developed a style that suited their aesthetic by adding embroidery. These eclectic fashions are much in evidence in Nyonya’s dress but are rarely seen in Baba’s. Simmel (1997) points out the reason why fashion is more pronounced in women’s clothing, arguing that every class, or rather perhaps every individual, has a certain amount of individualistic impulses in relation to the integration of the whole so that if one of these impulses is not satisfied in one social sphere, it will seek out another until it obtains the satisfaction it requires. Thus, when women’s self-expression and individuality cannot be satisfied in other spheres, fashion is like a valve that finds an outlet for women to achieve this satisfaction. Peranakan women’s dress not only expressed class and status but also emphasised the need to associate themselves with the dominant European (T. Lee, 2016).

While we can argue that the Javanese Nyonya’s pursuit of the European style of kebaya may have stemmed more from a desire for a higher status, the Melaka Straits Nyonya’s purpose for this style stemmed entirely from a fashion mentality. This eclectic style of dress had the same appeal to the Nyonya of the Straits region. However, the source of imitating this fashion trend was not the European women living in the Straits region but the Peranakan from Java. Unlike the Java region, British women in the Channel region were prohibited from wearing local-style dresses. The Batik Peranakan is produced mainly for the consumption of the Peranakan in Java and exported to the markets of the Straits Peranakan. The Java Peranakan’s batik is equally attractive to the Strait Peranakan due to the similarity in the background between the Java Peranakan and the Peranakan in the Strait. Many Nyonyas in the Strait have been well informed about Java, especially considering that some of them have relatives from Java. It was seemly confident that those who had relatives from Java were the Nyonyas who initiated the “Europeanised” sarong kebaya. T. Lee (2016, p. 194) gives an example of this conjecture, “Lee Choo Neo (1895–1947), the first woman doctor of Singapore who had a Javanese Peranakan step-mother, was one of the first to be seen taking pictured in lace kebaya and batik sarongs with European floral designs in her late teens and twenties in the early twentieth century(see Figure 6).” Although Nyonyas wearing Europeanised sarong may be imitating European women in Java, this appears improbable. It is in this sense that Nyonyas in the Strait may aspire to look fashionable like the Nyonyas in Javanese.

Figure 6. Lee Choo Neo(right)with a friend in Europeanised sarong and lace kebaya, 1914, Singapore.

Source: T. Lee (2016), p.195

Nyonya porcelain is another powerful piece of evidence that fashion strongly influenced the decorative motifs of the Peranakan in the 19th and 20th centuries. Most of the porcelain used by the Peranakan of this period came from China, and most were decorated with Chinese-style decorative motifs. However, rather than choosing Jingdezhen porcelain, which the Chinese used, they actually chose, like the Europeans, to order export porcelain (i.e., a type of porcelain specifically for markets outside of China, which the Chinese would not have used) in Guangzhou. As a hybrid community, their Chinese heritage often makes us overlook whether the porcelain they use is truly Chinese porcelain. Furthermore, whether or not the Peranakan chose to use these porcelains simply because of the Chinese identity in their lineage. There is considerable evidence that the porcelain used by the Peranakan was exported porcelain that did not conform to Chinese aesthetics. One possible reason that influenced their use of such porcelain was fashion.

The majority of Nyonya porcelain found in the Straits region today was produced during and after the Guangxu (1875–1909) period (Khoo, 1996). The earliest porcelain that resembles Nyonya porcelain is produced during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. During this period, the porcelain produced in China was divided into domestic porcelain for Chinese use and export porcelain specifically for export to foreign markets. Chinese export porcelain includes a wide range of Chinese porcelain that was (almost) exclusively exported to Europe, North America and other regions between the 16th and 20th centuries (Madsen et al., 2017). This porcelain is the result of the experience of the Chinese porcelain makers in producing porcelain adapted to the local needs of the Arab and Asian countries. In making the porcelain they ordered for their European customers, they were able to meet their needs not only in terms of form but also in terms of decorative patterns that suited European aesthetic tastes. There is much evidence that the Peranakan did not choose porcelain produced in Jingdezhen for Chinese use but chose to order it in Guangzhou in the same way as the Europeans. Firstly, it is a question of origin. According to Ming-Yuet (2012), Nyonya porcelain was not fired at a high temperature because of the dull sound when struck. The level of quality suggests that the Nyonya porcelain may have been produced at a kiln in Fujian or Guangdong, or at some smaller kiln in Jingdezhen. This characteristic of Nyonya porcelain is also in line with the lighter nature of export porcelain. In addition, Harrisson suggests that the blue and white porcelain used by the Chinese in the Straits (i.e., those who had recently emigrated from China) was a type of porcelain exported directly from Jingdezhen without any other decorative treatment. The Famille Rose porcelain used by the Peranakan was a type of porcelain that would be fired in Jingdezhen, sent to Guangzhou for painting and then exported through the port of Shanghai (Harrisson, 1995). This evidence also proves the existence of porcelain used by the Chinese in the Malay Archipelago, only that the Peranakan did not choose to use them. One possible reason for this is that the lower classes always had an incentive to imitate the life of the higher classes (Simmel, 1997). Chinese export porcelain often used more intricate techniques and decoration, and although these overly elaborate decorations did not suit the Chinese aesthetic, the Peranakan chose them. The use of export porcelain by the Peranakan was an imitation of the Europeans who had a high status in the Malay Archipelago at the time and could maintain the boundaries between them and the new immigrants who used Chinese porcelain.

The porcelain used by the Peranakan not only chose the same origin as that used by the Europeans but, imitating the style of these Chinese export porcelains, they established their own distinctive, eclectic style of porcelain belonging to the Peranakan. The first is the uniquely eclectic famille rose. Famille rose is the name given by Jacquemart in the 19th century to a group of porcelains decorated with enamels since 1721 (Harrisson, 1995). One feature of famille rose is the reference to European enamels to decorate porcelain and the addition of richer colours to enamels; another feature is the ability to show a painting-like, graduated brushstroke. Thus this technique allows porcelain to be decorated with a painterly effect similar to that on paper. Famille rose porcelain requires more than three additional firing steps than ordinary porcelain. With each firing, there is the risk of failure by cracking, which determines the high price of famille rose porcelain. Famille rose porcelain is a prevalent type of porcelain for export. The famille rose porcelain used by the Peranakan favoured unique and rich pinks, Turkish greens and yellows as the base colours. This is unlike any other porcelain from anywhere else(see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Ceramic vase with bird and peony design, late 19th or early 20th century.

Source: Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum in Malacca

Another feature is the eclectic decorative motifs of Nyonya porcelain. The decorative motifs on Chinese porcelain are usually more focused on the expression of the mood. Unlike local Chinese customers who prefer to combine calligraphy and painting with the shape of the porcelain, the surface of the porcelain is seen as a whole picture, making a decoration that imitates the form of a Chinese painting. The Peranakan have the same preference as their European clients, who prefer the paneled border decoration (i.e., make up the paneled border decorations with lines or decorative patterns and decorate within the boundaries of this the paneled border). This decoration style has a sense of order but is not suited to Chinese aesthetic tastes, but Nyonya porcelain has chosen this decoration style. Meanwhile, a popular type of Chinese export porcelain is armorial porcelain. This porcelain decoration usually has the family crest placed inside the open decoration. There are similar forms of porcelain used by the Peranakan. Many Peranakan like to order complete sets of porcelain (i.e., typically more than a dozen styles and over a hundred pieces) to serve guests at celebrations. For example, a wealthy merchant from Penang, Xiao, ordered a set of porcelain with the words Guanchadizhi(观察第制) written on it (Yichou, 2015) (see Figure 8). Most of the armorial on the porcelain of the Peranakan are similar in form to the seal used by the Chinese and are pretty different from the armorial used by the Europeans. For this reason, these family armorial are often confused with inscribed on the reverse of the porcelain. One feature that distinguishes Nyonya porcelain from European and Chinese porcelain decorative motifs is that images of landscapes, historical images and love stories, which were popular during the Qing dynasty, are scarce in porcelain used by the Peranakan. One possible reason for this is to respect Islamic beliefs.

Figure 8. A porcelain with the words Guanchadizhi(观察第制).

Source: Yichou (2015), p. 9

3. Conclusion

In this study, we use a comparative historical approach to explore the impact of fashion on the development of Peranakan decorative motifs. We explore fashion as a hypothetical influence, focusing on the different responses of European, local Southeast Asian, and Peranakan to a Chinoiserie fashion event that began in Europe in the 18th century. This part of the decoration has been easily mistaken for Chinese origin in previous studies because of the Chinese mixed race of the Peranakan. The results show that mixed aesthetics emerged in Southeast Asia as early as the 15th century when it was a trading centre for Eurasia. With the boom in the Eurasian trade, the eclectic aesthetic style in Southeast Asia developed to its peak in the 19th-20th centuries. And during this period, some wealthy local communities closely followed the Chinoiserie fashion style. Situated in a mixed position of several cultures, the Peranakan responded positively to the changing fashions. For this reason, they can even accept decorations that run counter to traditional Chinese aesthetics. This phenomenon also makes us aware of the complexity of the identity of the Peranakan, especially in terms of culture. The identity of the Peranakan is not simply a form of local people and Chinese added together but is constantly subject to environmental influences and changes.

Current research on the mixed identity of the Peranakan remains inadequate. Their multi-ethnic origins, changing ethnic relations, and constantly reshaped identities have sparked many debates about what constitutes a Peranakan identity. For the Peranakan community, which lacks written records, decorative art as a material heritage becomes crucial evidence to study this part of their history. The contextual reasons that influenced the development of the Peranakan decorative motifs are extraordinarily complex and need to be explored in greater depth to recover this history more accurately.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.