Antique Peranakan Jewellery

[spapeter]

I live in Sarawak and travels a lot in my work. Recently i stumbled across an old "nonya style" kerosang pin in a small goldsmith shop in a rural town.

The pin was made for the Iban communities and is quite simple in design but nevertheless an attractive piece of history. It was not cheap as the price for gold has gone up so much. I remember something like this would have cost 6 - 10 less when i first started collecting old jewellery. will post a picture of the thing if there is a facility for it here...

 

[evekitti]

I just visited the shop next to the Peranakan Museum at Armenian Street, and there's quite an impressive collection of Peranakan jewellery for sale. I was told they were antique pieces. I wonder if it's true of if they are replicas. Does anyone here know?

 

[spapeter]

Eve, i visited the museum a few months ago and at that time they had a fantastic exhibition of jewelery, many gorgeous pieces on loan from collectors.
Personally, i would not mind too much whether they are antique or replicas. Depends on the reason why you buy them....i would think they are usually purchase for use so as long as you like them and they are not too expensive, dont think too much..I dont see much reasons to collect just for investment, in my opinion not worth it.

these days, i have seen very intricately produced pieces from Cambodia and Vietnam ( silver ware??/) and they are not expensive. Some silver belt buckles from there are so nice. Of course i would buy the old ones if i have a choice, they have some special lure which i cant explain...

Maybe you should make a trip to kuching and compare them with the ones from Singapore. Tiger and Jetstar low cost carriers have direct flights to kuching. PM me if you need help...

 

[evekitti]

spapeter, thanks for your suggestion. My grandmother was Peranakan, that's why I have an interest in antique Peranakan jewellery. I would not consider buying replicas or Peranakan-style jewellery as they would hold no significance for me. For me, collecting Peranakan jewellery is like collecting antiques. The value of the piece is in the history behind it.

 

[mistikat]

These are beautiful pieces. I had never heard of this kind of jewelry and really appreciate being able to learn something new!

 

[evekitti]

mistikat, I'm glad you like them! The "diamonds" are actually not rose cut diamonds as was stated earlier in this thread. They are diamond chips or "intan" as we call them. Peranakan jewellery are not as valuable as other eras of antique jewellery, like Edwardian, Victorian, Art Deco...etc. You'll probably never see them up for auction at Christies or Sothebys. But I believe they're even rarer since there wasn't/isn't a big community of Peranakans.

 

[spapeter]

Eve, ya the history behind the peranakan jewellery is simply fascinating for me too.... At my MIL 88th birthday recently, the daughters and the grandchildren all came in kebayas and old jewellery...it was such a sight to behold...and my simply collection was put to full use..hihi.

The gold and silver ware together with the ceramics / works of Art were sold by Christie before..I have two beautiful catalogues from 1994 and 1997, entirely for peranakan ceramics, gold and silver..From 1998 there were very few peranakan items listed. I havent seen any sales since that time by the auction house..


my nieces during the birthday party (no beaded slippers loh) ....second picture; wife and cousins
http://picasaweb.google.com/spapete...key=Gv1sRgCIan4OKTl_b58wE#5533289229094912706

 

[evekitti]

spapeter, Thanks for sharing, I love your photos!! The sarong kebayas are beautiful, I love the colours. Were they specially tailored? My grandmother left us quite a lot but hers are huge

Were there gold jewellery sold at the Christies auction in the catalogues you have, like kerosang? I'm curious to know what the true value of these jewellery are. I've been tempted by some antique jewellery but I'm not sure I want to pay the exorbitant price tag.

 

[spapeter]

Thank you Eve, The photos could be viewed through the full screen mode to see the pattern better. These are old pieces from the mothers, aunts and grandmas...specially tailored, i think from Penang..i know they have to wait for months to get the finished products since we are on this side of the sea.

In the early years, beautiful pieces were buried with their owners when they passed away ..Fortunately, we were able to convince some of our relatives to let us keep a few. The original owners were slim when they were young....and when they aged, their kebayas also prospered into more substantial sizes.. so there could be smaller sizes among your collection...hihi

Eve, they do have the rose cut diamonds in the jewellery owned by the well to do. Usually, the stones would be purchased overseas and then they would get the gold smith to come to the house to do up the pieces they wanted. These are truly magnificent pieces and cost a lot even during the time they were produced. There was one gold and diamond kerosang (late 19thcentury) which was sold for S$102750 in the 1994 Christies sale. i never grew tired looking at the photo of this set...

Most of the other gold plated silver etc used diamond "skin" as you have mentioned earlier. Some are expensive too because of the very intricate workmanship... I would scan the samples if not for copyright issue which i am not familiar with.

 

[evekitti]

Wow, $100K for a kerosang!! There must be a very keen collector out there! Do you have the lot number? I can search for it on the Christies site though I'm not sure if they still have records from auctions more than 10 years ago.

I haven't seen jewellery with rose cut diamonds before, they must be even more beautiful.

 

[evekitti]

I live in Sarawak and travels a lot in my work. Recently i stumbled across an old "nonya style" kerosang pin in a small goldsmith shop in a rural town.

The pin was made for the Iban communities and is quite simple in design but nevertheless an attractive piece of history. It was not cheap as the price for gold has gone up so much. I remember something like this would have cost 6 - 10 less when i first started collecting old jewellery. will post a picture of the thing if there is a facility for it here...

Please please post photos!! Just click on the paperclip symbol in the menu bar above.

 

[spapeter]

OK... Singapore Sunday 27 March 1994 "South East Asian Pictures and Strait Chinese Ceramics, Gold and Silver"

Lot 263 estimated S$75,000 - S$100,000
Price Achieved S$102,750

BTW the diamond are brilliant-cut diamond..r they the same as rose-cut?

 

[evekitti]

Thanks spaperter for the info. Tried searching through Christies' past auctions, they've removed most of the photos but I did see the description. Most of the jewellery auctioned were rose cut diamonds!! Now I know why I don't see them around anymore. Collectors have snapped them all up! Did you bid on any of the auctions then? I was too young then or I would have certainly tried to buy the jewellery and the ceramics!

Brilliant cut diamonds aren't the same as rose cuts. Rose cut diamonds are an antique cut originating from the 16th century while brilliant cut are the modern day diamonds that we find in jewellery shops. You can easily tell a rose cut diamond from a brilliant cut, they have less facets so they don't sparkle like a brilliant cut. Now you can see a revival of these types of cuts in a lot of "Western" jewellery. Tiffany just launched an entire collection featuring rose cut diamonds.

A brilliant cut diamond is way more expensive than a rose cut, so that's why the auction went for so high. I have read of people replacing the intans on old Peranakan jewellery with brilliant cut diamonds so that they sparkle more. It will make the piece more valuable but personally I feel that diminishes the historical value of the piece.

 

[spapeter]

Did you bid on any of the auctions then? I was too young then or I would have certainly tried to buy the jewellery and the ceramics!

Eve, I drooled over the catalogs but never did any bid...way beyond my reach. I am a simple man with a simple family and could only pamper myself with the cheaper classics.... My major venture was british classic motorcycles. I collected and restored some as a hobby..and that hobby had enabled me to get my hands on classic rolexes, extra cash for the jewellery and a holiday or two for the family. My motorcycle friends are after my bikes for a long time..i dont sell them but they know that if they bring in an interesting article, i would usually trade with cash adjustment at times...The children have grown up and on their own so my wif and i could spent more for ourselves these days..Hence, the purchase of the latest kerosangs (2 last pieces) hihi, *dont know how many times i use "last" already*

p/s i will scan the said kerosang and post when i get home later

 

[evekitti]

spapeter, I thought you were a Nonya but you're a Baba

I asked a Peranakan friend, and the jewellery with rose-cut diamonds are called Berlian. Those are super expensive because they contain whole stones, as opposed to Intan which are diamond shavings.

Thanks to you, my interest in Peranakan jewellery has been revived!