Featured Peranakan "Nyonyaware" Bowl/Dish...thingy!

This is going to be part of an exhibition on Peranakan culture, that I'm helping my friends to put together...

 

Lovely, and definitely a thingy.
I'll tag the wonderful @Ken Yap for you.

Is the exhibition going to be in Melbourne?

Btw, I was reading about the original use of the term Peranakan, and was surprised that it was originally used for the 'Indos', Dutch Indonesians. They were obviously 'anak' or child of the country, and part indigenous, but they were not considered Indonesian.
Peranakan was even used as a legal term for the Indos in the racially defined post 1900 era of the Dutch East Indies. The people we now call Peranakan were officially 'other Asian'.
Strange times, and things change.

But there you are, I am Peranakan. (Sort of.)

 

"Peranakan" literally means "Offspring" or "descendant".

As you say "Anak" means "child".

As far as Indo/Malay/Singaporean are concerned - 'Peranakan' refers to the offspring resulting from a Chinese man marrying a Malay, Indonesian, or Peranakan woman.

Half my family is Peranakan. My dad's entire family, stretching back generations, is all pure Peranakan.

 

Shangas, I don't disagree with you, and you should know that by now, I am just looking at the historical meaning.
As I said, things change. Meanings of words as they are understood from one generation to another and more, change. This change is also adapted in legal language.

Peranakan doesn't literally mean offspring or descendant, that is an interpretation of the word.
Anak means child (offspring), and the prefix per- and suffix -an are added to mean pertaining to (a) child. At least that is how it is constructed in Indonesian, and most probably in Malay as well.
So Peranakan is anything pertaining to a child. Ideally it should be specified. But it is just a word, the meaning is an interpretation.
And as I said, in legal terminology, the term Peranakan without an addition, like for instance Tionghoa, used to be the term for mixed Indo-Malay and European, and it is now used for people of mixed Indo-Malay and Chinese.
The last bit is also what you said, so, grammar aside, we agree.
It does not change the identity of either group, it is just terms, words.

Another confusing term: The word 'totok' (full blood, whatever that may mean) used to be used for both Europeans who were born in Europe, and for Chinese born in China.
Singkeh was of course also used, more precisely when referring to the Chinese nationality, just like Belanda for Dutch.

Marriage didn't always come into the mix, btw, for either mixed group. The history of the Indo-Malay world is complicated, but that is another story.

 

Always took these stylish pieces to be Republic Period Chinese. I have several but have never had any luck selling them. Passed by a good sized bowl in the thrift just yesterday. I like them but that is no longer a good enough reason to buy, regardless of price.

 

They were made in China, but mostly exported to the Straits Chinese community in Southeast Asia. They are regarded as part of the cultural heritage of the Peranakan or Straits Chinese.

 

Was just going to post similar. See this motif in bowls and lamps and vases, I like the colors, but hesitate to buy.

 

I would've said Chinese right off the bat. "Peranakan" is relatively new to me, and I'm fascinated by the history.

 

It gets even more complicated.
I already explained the literal meaning of the word Peranakan if it is used on its own, and this goes on from there:

"However, in a semantic shift, the word peranakan has come to be used as a "metaphorical" adjective that has the meaning of "locally born but non-indigenous".[10] In Indonesian, it can denote "hybrid" or "crossbred"."

"The word Peranakan, which can have very broad and labile meanings in Malay and Indonesian and, when used in common parlance, is simply an indicator of heritage or descent, may also be used to refer to other ethnic groups in the same region. Owing to the broad meaning of the term 'peranakan', the term is also encountered when referring to other communities in the region with similar histories of immigration and assimilation. For example, the Chitty may accurately refer to themselves as 'Indian Hindu Peranakans', meaning "of Indian Hindu descent" or "locally born but non-indigenous Indian Hindu". Likewise the Kristang may accurately refer to themselves as 'Eurasian Peranakans'.[16] The name of the Jawi Pekan people is derived from 'Peranakan', Jawi being the Javanised Arabic script, and Pekan being a colloquial contraction of Peranakan.[14]"

"The prominence of Peranakan Chinese culture, however, has led to the common elision whereby 'Peranakan' may simply be taken to refer to the Peranakan Chinese, i.e. the culturally unique descendants of the earliest Chinese settlers in the Malay Archipelago, as opposed to the other smaller groups that also justifiably call themselves 'peranakan'."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakans#Terminology

 

Peranakan porcelain was not made where the Peranakan LIVED (SE Asia), it was made in China, and EXPORTED to SE Asia. It just so happened that the Peranakan were the only ones who liked using this type of bright, garish, over-decorated type of porcelain, so the artisans in China started making it specifically for them.

Peranakan-style porcelain is very distinctive, and you can spot it almost immediately just by the colours and decorations alone.

It's a relatively new term for a lot of people. I think @Any Jewelry would agree with me if I said that global awareness of the Peranakan-Chinese on a whole, is pretty low. I only found out about it after my grandmother died, when my dad started to wax nostalgic about her life.

I'm well aware of the complications when it comes to labeling the Peranakan. When I was doing research for an article I wrote, I came across at least four or five different names for them.

There is a similar term used in Malaysia and Singapore - "Sinkeh" - which referred exclusively to Chinese migrants from mainland China who moved to SE Asia anytime between the mid-late 1800s through to the 1950s and 60s. It's a corruption of "Xin Ke" ("New Guest" or "New Visitor") in Chinese.

It was a term used by the Peranakan to differentiate themselves - who had lived in SE Asia for literally centuries by this point - from the "new people" who were fresh off the boat from China.

 

I honestly should be paying for this education

 

I accept payment in gold, silver, or fancy fountain pens

I've always wanted a piece of antique Peranakan nyonyaware, but they're OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. A tiny little piece, even smaller than that dish (which is on the lower end of "medium-sized") is several several hundred dollars...and the bigger pieces are well over $1,000+.

For a full Peranakan-style tea-set or dinner service, it could be anywhere from $1,000 to several more, depending on age, size, condition, etc.

You can, now, buy modern, reproduction nyonyaware - which has the same styling without the insane prices, but their quality varies.

Some pieces which are modern, are very attractive. Others are cartoonishly sloppy in their decorations.

 

Agreed. All very interesting. Lots of info. Like being back in class. I almost feel I should be taking shorthand notes. Thanks all round for sharing your knowledge

 

"There'll be a short quiz next period!"

- Tom Lehrer.

 

That goes for the entire cultural make-up of the SE Asian trade area.
It is an interesting mix of many cultures from Asia, Europe, and Africa, that started over a thousand years ago.
European 'discoveries' and the Chinese opening up to foreign travel from the 16th century onward gave it a boost.
And every sizeable mixed group developed its own culture and customs.
Even a small group like the Mardijkers, descendants of freed slaves from India, Africa, and Europe, created its own culture and language, which still influences present day Indonesian.

The maternal Indo-Malay influence was often very important, especially if mothers were allowed to raise their children, which is also the connection between most of these otherwise different groups.

People from these mixed groups were often key in further development of trade connections, because they were often related to local power, knew local and foreign customs and spoke various local and foreign languages.

Immigrants often try to 'get on with things' in their new country. But I am glad that he remembered his background, and passed the love on to you.

Names for minorities often become derogatory over time, so a new name has to be thought up. Sometimes it is difficult to keep up.
If everyone just respected the other person and their background, we wouldn't have that problem.

In the case of the use of 'Peranakan' without any explanation, my conclusion is that it is used for the largest mixed population.
In Indonesia that used to be the Indo-Malay and European mix. But when most of them were kicked out by Sukarno and sent to a country that was foreign to them, it became the next largest group, the Indo-Malay and Chinese mix.
But as I said, that is just my conclusion.
And again, Peranakan is just a name. Cultural identity exists independently of a name.

 

Wow, what a long and interesting discussion. Coming back to this narcissus bowl, I would not consider it Peranakan and I don’t think many collectors would. It is not a popular shape for them. Many other cultures also admired colourful things, including the Europeans

 

Thank you for joining in, @Ken Yap . Your input is always valuable.
So a narcissus bowl, not Peranakan as such, but 'gaudy' enough to appeal to a wider audience.

 

It's penciled into the exhibit nonetheless. We have to take what we can find for stuff like this.

 

I found another one!

The new one is the one with the crack in the base.

Two matching nyonyaware bowls...!

 

It’s always a pleasure to. Yes, it’s just a narcissus bowl for the worldwide market. If I am not mistaken, the narcissus during Chinese New Year is of far greater importance to the Chinese rather than the Peranakans, who prefer the Ixora culturally