Southeast Asia. Sarong kebaya: Peranakan fashion in an interconnected world, 1500–1950 By Peter Lee Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 2014. Pp. 352. Maps, Plates, Notes, Bibliography, Index.

Abstract

Sarong kebaya: Peranakan fashion in an interconnected world, 1500-1950 By PETER LEE Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 2014. Pp. 352. Maps, Plates, Notes, Bibliography, Index. The subject of 'oriental textiles' or textiles of the 'oriental trade' have been discussed from the perspective of trade impetus and consumption originating from, or at least stimulated by, the European maritime trade (e.g. Carl Crossman, The decorative arts of the China trade: Paintings, furnishings and exotic curiosities, Antique Collectors Club, 1991; Anna Jackson and Amin Jaffer, Encounters: The meeting of Asia and Europe, 1500-1800, London: VA Rosemary Crill, Chintz: Indian textiles for the West; London: VA Journal, memorials and letters of Cornells Matelieff de Jonge: Security, diplomacy and commerce in 17th-century Southeast Asia [2015]; both NUS Press); and through archaeological findings (John Miksic, Singapore and the Silk Road of the East: 1300-1800, NUS Press, 2013). Sarong kebaya: Peranakan fashion and its international sources joins these recent publications in providing an account of dress, textiles and jewellery found and collected in the Malay-Indonesian archipelago, and how local culture interacted with the international trade and sojourners that turned up on these shores. The publication gives attention to the 'cotton route', which Peter Lee notes is often obscured by the larger category of the maritime 'silk route'--the trade in luxuries and exotica that included porcelain, lacquer and ivory. This extensively researched catalogue was written to accompany the eponymous exhibition held by the Peranakan Museum, Singapore, from April 2011 to April 2012. Running through the different chapters and discussions is the constant act of referencing the different cultural influences that impact on the evolution of local culture, tangible or otherwise. Woven into the discussions of trends and consumption is a rich description of society and the tensions between colonials, locals and mestizos (chap. 2), the slaves and the free (chap. 3), from which derives the politics of dress. Lush and detailed descriptions give an account of the driving forces behind fashion: class, wealth, ethnicity and gender. Notably, the role of women (whether female Eurasian and European batik retailers (p. 206); or Peranakan girls and women described in chap. 3 and after) is emphasised, and they are presented as active participants in determining fashion trends and influencing the evolution of the style of the kebaya and accompanying accessories (chaps. 6 and 7). The strategic use of materials that are considered 'ephemera'--prints and drawings--removes the ephemeral mysticism of the past and allows history to become documentary and visually present. …