Bead Work Decoration Panels For Food Cover (Tudung Saji)

Tudung saji is a traditional food cover used mostly by the Malaysians to cover their meals as to keep the food away from insects.

In the Peranakan household, the Nyonyas will try their very best to keep their dining table presentable to look at, especially when the tables are presented with the food covers.

The semi-round-shaped food covers were usually decorated with the beading-on-velvet technique bead work on top of the covers.

Pictures below shows the example of the bead work decoration panels used for decorating the food covers.


Panel 1

Picture 1
Diameter : 21.5cm

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Panel 2

Picture 1
Diameter : 9cm

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Panel 3

Picture 1
Size : 23cm x 23cm

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Nyonya Beaded Purses

Beaded purses and shoes are the only forms of old Nyonya bead work to have survived the passage of time. The Nyonyas of old were taught to sew, bead and embroider all of their accessories that were needed in the household all by themselves. They had to make bed tapestries, bridal hangings, panels, knee pads, shoes, kebaya laces, articles of decoration such as beaded vases, beaded purses, bags, letter holders, decorative motifs, pillow ends, containers, sireh covers, food covers, cloth hangings, religious cloth decorations, handkerchiefs and a whole list of other needed household items of art. It was part and parcel for Nyonyas in the past to stay at home and be cultivated in cooking, sewing, embroidery and adat or culture.

The pictures below shows you what an old Peranakan wedding purse would look like. Such purses were only used on wedding days and reserved for special occasions after that. Such purses took months to complete and involved much painstaking hard work and artistry.


Purse 1

Purse 1
Size : 12cm x 21cm

Purse 1

Purse 1

Purse 1

Purse 1

Purse 1

Purse 1

Purse 1

Purse 2

Purse 2
Size : 9cm x 16cm

Purse 2

Purse 2

Purse 2

Purse 2

Purse 2

Purse 2