DECORATIVE TEXTILES

Ranging from slippers to bed-curtains, Peranakan needlework functioned as gifts, dress accessories, and, most prominently, decorative textiles for major celebrations, especially weddings. Some of the most elaborate and impressive examples that have survived bear connections to this important rite of passage. Many important ceremonies were conducted within the home, and embroideries helped to transform a mundane interior into a symbolic space for rituals and festivities.