Frog-Shaped Ceramic Wall Pockets / Vases

Wall pockets really hit their heyday during the 1940s and 1950s. The frog-shaped ceramic wall pockets or vases below were usually used by the Peranakans to decorate their walls at home.

There were thousands of wall pocket styles made over the years. These popular decorative accessories were shaped like frogs, parrots, fruits and flowers, just to name a few themes, and they were hung on the walls with different purposes such as stowing small household items, or to be hung as a decorative item as it is.

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Nineteenth Century Red And Gold Dresser Chest Made For The Peranakan Chinese Market In The Straits Settlements Or Sumatra

This bevelled chest, with 6 drawers, is decorated with elaborate gilded carvings of foliage and flowers. The ensemble most probably is made of namwood.

Red and gold furniture was commissioned from artisans in Southern China, the Straits settlements and the East Indies by wealthy Peranakan Chinese merchants in the Straits Settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang, and Java and Sumatra in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Peranakan Chinese of Southeast Asia formed a distinct community from other local Chinese. Their families had been in Southeast Asia for at least several generations and often they were the product of intermarriage between local Chinese and the indigenous population. Their customs were a curious blend of English, indigenous and Chinese customs. Weddings were very important. For these, furniture for the bridal chamber such as this dresser chest was commissioned.

Height: 42cm, Width: 31cm, Length: 52cm

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