Peranakan and Chinese woodcarving
Opium day bed in the red and gold style made of cengal and seraya local indigenous woods from Penang (c. 1890s).
From the intermarriage between early Chinese merchants and traders and local women, evolved a unique people, the Peranakan. Female elements such as the phoenix and peonies were the symbols of choice in their decorative arts and culture, largely due to assimilation of the local Malay concept of matrilocal control. Colonial and European influences are also evident in their woodcraft. In comparison, later 19th-century Chinese migrants favoured more purely Sinic forms and motifs.
- Information in the full article includes
- Trade links, Chinese settlement and evolution of the Peranakan
- Woodcarving traditions in Malaysia
- Types of crafted wood and styles
- Symbols and their cultural significance