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<p>[QUOTE="Shangas, post: 9789279, member: 360"]Yeah, Peranakan women were not heavyweights. My grandmother, rest her soul, was all of about 5'3", and her belt was tiny! Part of the reason (apart from overall smaller frames) was that nyonyas tended to get married VERY very young by modern standards.</p><p><br /></p><p>Belts like these were often bridal gifts. They were given to young Peranakan women by their parents or their husbands/fiances on the occasion of an important event - usually - marriage. </p><p><br /></p><p>There was no such thing back then as ready-made belts. You want a belt? You had to go to someone like my great-grandfather, who was an established Peranakan jeweler in Malacca - and ask him to make it for you. </p><p><br /></p><p>He might have some parts pre-made, like belt-buckles, or clasps or fasteners, but the actual body of the belt would have to be produced entirely from scratch. No two Peranakan belts were ever exactly the same, as a result, and as A.J. said, styles varied by region, from Thailand to Singapore, Malaysia to Sumatra and so-on. </p><p><br /></p><p>It wasn't uncommon back then for Peranakan women to marry VERY young - between 15 - 20 was common. As such, the belts were sized for much smaller waists, before things like pregnancy and menopause and old-age indulgences set in, and whatnot.</p><p><br /></p><p>Speaking for my own family, my father knew his mother, his grandmother, AND his GREAT-grandmother. Nyonyas married so young back then that multi-generational Peranakan families were extremely common. So the belts being smaller than one might expect, would be quite normal.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Shangas, post: 9789279, member: 360"]Yeah, Peranakan women were not heavyweights. My grandmother, rest her soul, was all of about 5'3", and her belt was tiny! Part of the reason (apart from overall smaller frames) was that nyonyas tended to get married VERY very young by modern standards. Belts like these were often bridal gifts. They were given to young Peranakan women by their parents or their husbands/fiances on the occasion of an important event - usually - marriage. There was no such thing back then as ready-made belts. You want a belt? You had to go to someone like my great-grandfather, who was an established Peranakan jeweler in Malacca - and ask him to make it for you. He might have some parts pre-made, like belt-buckles, or clasps or fasteners, but the actual body of the belt would have to be produced entirely from scratch. No two Peranakan belts were ever exactly the same, as a result, and as A.J. said, styles varied by region, from Thailand to Singapore, Malaysia to Sumatra and so-on. It wasn't uncommon back then for Peranakan women to marry VERY young - between 15 - 20 was common. As such, the belts were sized for much smaller waists, before things like pregnancy and menopause and old-age indulgences set in, and whatnot. Speaking for my own family, my father knew his mother, his grandmother, AND his GREAT-grandmother. Nyonyas married so young back then that multi-generational Peranakan families were extremely common. So the belts being smaller than one might expect, would be quite normal.[/QUOTE]
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Antique? Chinese? Silver Asian belt. TYIA for any help
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