Straits-Chinese Beaded Pillow

Straits Chinese(Peranakan) are the Chinese merchant class that left China, settled around the straits of Malacca and eventually married and blended into the local population. The straits were a vital trade route connecting Europe and India to China and Japan.
The ethnic Chinese people brought their ancestral traditions with them but also incorporated local arts and crafts, British colonial sensibilities, all adapted to the sub-tropical climate of their new surroundings. Glass beads are generally not used in mainland China but along the trade routes they could be easily obtained and therefore found their way into Straits- Chinese culture, craft and textile.

This beaded rectangle, made of tiny trade beads, depicts a large rose flanked by two birds, all agains a blue ground filled with floral motifs.

It is mounted to a front of a pillow that most likely was made in the 1960-70 and probably saved this splendid beaded panel from further deterioration.