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Peranakan Museum: At the altar

They may seem like typical Chinese altar cloths, but look closer and, in some, you’ll spot a Dutch East Indies coat of arms or even the mythical Naga creature.

They may seem like typical Chinese altar cloths, but look closer and, in some, you’ll spot a Dutch East Indies coat of arms or even the mythical Naga creature.

They’re also made from batik.

The Peranakan Museum’s latest exhibition takes you all the way to Java with an unusual exhibition of textile pieces. Titled Auspicious Designs, it mainly comprises a display of 36 altar cloths (or “tok wi” in Baba Malay) from the early to mid-20th century that apparently are found only in Indonesia’s Peranakan community and rarely anywhere else.

“These are textiles hung in front of Chinese altars during ceremonial occasions,” shared the show’s curator, Maria Khoo Joseph. “Textiles are important in demarcating sacred spaces and these also elevate the occasion of the day (such as weddings and funerals).”

But unlike other altar cloths, these pieces have taken on a distinct style. While they retain the square-ish format, layout and elements that are commonly found in traditional Chinese altar cloths, the Peranakan ethos of mixing and combining cultures has resulted in some noticeable differences. These include European and Islamic motifs and influences — not to mention, of course, the very distinct batik aesthetic, such as the “isen” or pattern fillers and somewhat un-Chinese floral motifs.

Dr Alan Chong, Director of the Peranakan Museum and Asian Civilisations Museum, pointed out that while the pieces are essentially about two things that are familiar to us — Chinese altar clothes and batik — “the combination of these two is surprising”.

“The source is Chinese, but the practice began to shift as well. From the 19th century onwards, it began to change in terms of design and the (traditional elements of the) lion and dragon became more colourful,” he said.

But there’s one thing that has baffled the museum folks. Despite the ubiquitous presence of batik and Peranakans in Singapore and the Straits Settlement areas, the altar cloths never caught on in this part of the region.

“That, for me, is one of the great mysteries here,” said Dr Chong.

Sarongs, for instance, were imported from Java and you would have families migrating from Java to Singapore and Malacca, but not these unusual altar clothes, he said.

One of the reasons, perhaps, was that it was somewhat of a rarity to begin with. While there were Peranakan communities in Indonesia, many of the Chinese batik-makers were concentrated along the northern coast or Central Java, said Khoo Joseph. And making altar cloths wasn’t their main bread and butter — they earned their keep mainly from the mass-produced batik textiles for sarongs and the like.

“It’s very niche so mostly it would be commissioned by families,” she said.

Tracking them down was a challenge for collector Alvin Yapp. The pieces on display are only a sampling of the 72-piece collection he had recently donated to the museum. Yapp started collecting them seven years ago after a friend had gifted him his initial 10 pieces. From these, he started hunting down the rest through dealers, fellow collectors, antique shops and families — with a couple of pieces over eBay — all in Indonesia.

Batik altar cloths are still largely overlooked. “The pieces were not desirable to many collectors, who were more interested in collecting batik sarongs,” said Yapp, who added that he had found very little documentation on this particular kind of batik. “I would interview people and nine out of 10 of them wouldn’t know what it was for. Some thought it was a kind of curtain or used for doorways.”

 

Auspicious Designs: Batik For Peranakan Altars runs until Dec 28, 10am to 7pm, at the Peranakan Museum, 39 Armenian Street. For more information, visit http://www.peranakanmuseum.sg.

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