Sunday, April 3, 2011

Nyonya Jewelleries

Here are some of my collection of old Nyonya gold, intan, silver and gilded jewelleries.

Just like the Peranakan culture which is a hybrid of Chinese and Malay cultures, Peranakan jewellery reflects the two cultures' sense of aesthetics. The delicate and ornate curves of the floral motif reflect Malay wood carvery, for instance, and the use of dragonflies, phoenix (as seen in the picture below - gold necklace with intan), goldfish (as seen in the picture below - gold bracelet with intan), and peony flowers stem from auspicious meanings the Chinese attach to them.


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Gold necklace with intan.



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Gold necklace with intan.



Picture 3
Gold necklace with intan.



Gold bracelet with intan.



Gold ear studs with jade.



Gold ear studs with intan.
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Star-shaped gold ear studs with intan.
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Silver ear studs from England.
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Silver ear studs.
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Silver ear studs.
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Incomplete gold earring with red stone.
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Gold ring with jade.
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Another gold ring with jade.



Gold ring with cut stone.



Gold ring with intan.
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Gold ring with zamrud stone (emerald stone) and intan.
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Gold ring with intan.
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Old gold bangles with zigzag and diamond shape (British influence).



All the old gold bangles in my collection.



An old gold necklace with the heart-shaped cut stone pendant.
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Gold pendant with intan.



Gold pendant with intan.



Gold pendant with intan.



Jade pendant.



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An authentic old double sided Peranakan silver gilt pendant.



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Another side of the pendant.



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Silver pendant with dragon motif. Size : 2cm x 3cm



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Another side of the pendant.



Picture 3
The details of the workmanship.



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Simple silver pendant with Chinese characters "chu ru ping an", meaning may your coming and going be in peace. Size : 2cm x 3cm



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Another side of the pendant.



An old silver baby anklet with bells.



Another old silver baby anklet with bell.



Silver baby anklet with charms.



A pair of Nyonya silver gilt anklets 1.
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Nyonya silver gilt anklets 1.
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A pair of Nyonya silver anklets 2.
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Nyonya silver anklets 2.
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A pair of Nyonya copper anklets 3.
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Nyonya copper anklets 3.
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A closer look of the designs for the Nyonya anklets 1, 2 and 3.
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A pair of Nyonya silver gilt anklets 4.
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Nyonya silver gilt anklets 4.
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Nyonya silver gilt anklets 4.
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Nyonya silver gilt anklets 4.
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A pair of broken Nyonya silver anklets 5.
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A pair of Nyonya silver bangles.
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A pair of Nyonya silver bangles.
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A Nyonya silver bangle.
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A silver bangle with semi precious stones.
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Malay silver bangle with Thai influence.
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A pair of silver baby bangles.
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The hallmark.
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The Iban (from Sarawak) silver bangles.
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A total of nine Iban silver bangles.
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A pair of silver anklets.



Another pair of silver anklets.



A pair of silver twist anklets.



An adjustable silver necklace.
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The unclear maker's mark.
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Also check out the "Indian Anklets" and the "Wedding Necklaces".

9 comments:

  1. Nicely curated collection! How old are the star shaped gold ear studs with intan?

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    1. Thank you so much. :) It is indeed a very fine quality antique star-shaped gold ear studs, in one of the best conditions I have come across. Dating to the late 19th century, these earrings of Straits Settlements were made featured exceptionally clear natural old rose-cut diamonds, set in 18-karat rose-hued gold, with eight-pointed star that was well-loved, and furnished with original screw-type earring backs. I love it...

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  2. Hi, i have seen a number of gold pendants with intan. Can you tell me the grade of gold that was used ? Is it mainly 18-carat? Thank you, I have enjoyed viewing your collection. Also, would you be able to give me an estimate value of pieces I have if I send you pictures of them?

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    1. Hi Janie. Thank you so much for the compliments. To be honest with you, the grade of gold been used especially for the Peranakan and the Malay people for the past mostly were 9-14 carat. This is due to the intricate works of the pieces (by the goldsmiths) needed a "hard-base" material to create multiple shapes for a piece of jewellery. A pure gold or higher grade gold is too soft for these purposes (machine-cut designs were not existed during that era). Most of the people also call it 'suasa' gold / 'emas suasa'. In present days, people buying 'emas lama' / old gold jewelleries is not because of the gold contain in the jewellery itself, it is more on the arts and the craftsmanships of the pieces which is getting difficult to find these days. No doubt, there are higher grade gold or pure 999 (24 carat) gold been used too for jewelleries during that time, but the designs are not as "heavy" as the lower grade gold jewelleries. And of course, I'm more than happy to help if you have clear and nice pictures to share with me... :)

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  3. Good day, I've just started to collect old peranakan jewellery. Do you mind to share some pointers or advice on how to determine the authenticity of peranakan jewellery?

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  4. Hi.my name is amizah i like your collection and i would like to know more about your bracelets collections. I'm doing research about malaysia traditional and antique bracelets.i hope you can help and give me some information and photo of the bracelets.hofe to hear form you.thank you

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  5. Buongiorno sono bellissimi , ma sono in vendita? Oltre che essere delizia per gli occhi?

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  6. Hello there! I'm thrilled to have stumbled upon your blog. I noticed a necklace in one of your pictures that looks identical to one I have. It holds special meaning for me as it was a wedding gift from my mom. In my city, Kuching, Sarawak, this necklace is like an old antique piece that's hard to find. It's considered rare and carries a lot of sentimental value for me. It was famous in the 50's and 60's, more or less, and it is called "Lecha" in our language. Most Malay families do have at least a piece of this similar, whether a ring, necklace, or earring too. I've heard the price can go up to 20k as we speak. As they say, "hanya jauhari yang mengenal manikam" - only the jeweler knows the true worth. Needless to say, the 4th generation continues to gather/buying more of this kind of piece as we fell in love with the remarkable workmanship of this jewelry. Feel free to email me at nrbsrh@yahoo.com if you wanna know more as I love sharing my Sarawak Malay heritage with the world.

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