Peranakan Beadwork- pain or pleasure?
(Extracted from April-June 2003 Issue of The Peranakan newsletter)
HEATHER ONG
Have you ever coveted a beautiful pair of kasut manek, or gazed admiringly at an exquisite, beaded panel in the museum? Have you wondered whether you could muster the patience and commitment needed to complete your own beaded item?
Seventeen people answered ‘YES’, and gathered at Katong Antique House on 24 May, to find out if they had the aptitude to embark on this creative hobby.
Baba Peter Wee began with the history of Peranakan beadwork. Sewing manek items for daily use was a true expression of the culture at that time, as it was the Nyonya’s very own handiwork, reflecting her interests, tastes and creative fair. Perhaps the missionary teachers first introduced cross-stitch were later imported from Europe. These pattern books formed the basis of most Peranakan beadwork designs. The Nyonyas’ favourite motifs included Western-style flowers, birds, insects, and ladies in period dresses; dogs, swans, Snow White’s seven dwarfs and even Betty Boop have also appeared on beaded shoes, bags, belts and bolster ends. Older work used tiny, faceted, Rocaille beads (manek potong), which were imported from Czechoslovakia (known as Bohemia in the old days). These antique beads, in a vast array of colours, were sold by the strands, and are much sought after by collectors today.
As we viewed the antique pieces, we marveled at the exquisite workmanship and tiny beads. Though time, humidity and silverfish (enemies of the cotton thread used for sewing the beads) had ravaged some of these precious items, the scintillating effect of the manek potong was still evident.
Pidangans (frames) were then set up for participants to try their hands at beading a simple design. Some first-timers found it easy and enjoyable, while others struggled and even shed blood (needle pricks), sweat (the recent hot weather) and tears (eye strain!) in the process.
What did the participants learn from their introduction to beadwork?
“I knew it would be hard work, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to complete a whole project,” admitted Charlene.
“A –lah, kepala sakit, sair, the beads are so small! I’ll stick to cooking!” proclaimed Tony.
“It’s really interesting, but one needs a lot of patience, and time to pursue this hobby,” said Maggie.
The afternoon ended with refreshments like homemade pengat and kueh bengkar, which we enjoyed while browsing among the kasut manek and artifacts in the shop.
We hope to encourage new beadwork enthusiasts from this group, so a list of teachers was provided, and some have been inspired to enroll in the next available beadwork course. We wish them all the best on their enjoyable journey, and hope that they will experience the joy of creating personal heirlooms using just beads, needles and thread.
