Straits Chinese Coin purse

Straits Chinese are the Chinese merchant class that left China and settled around the straits of Malacca. Those straits were a vital trade route between China and Japan to the east and the rest of the world to the west. These 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 China but along the trade routes, they could be easily obtained and therefore found their way into Straits- Chinese culture. This coin purse is made of velvet, green on one side and deep purple on the other. The floral design is carried out with imported tiny Italian trade beads, giving the surfaces a glittery look.