This hairpin is known as 'korek kuping', which literally means ‘ear pick’. It was part of a set of three, which includes a similar plain hairpin and a hairpin with a decorative top. A Peranakan woman, also known as Nonya, would traditionally tie her waist-long hair into a coiled bun, which would be held in place with hairpins such as this. The common practice in Malacca and Singapore was to use three pins whereas in Penang, up to seven hairpins were used. As the bun was worn high near the top of the head and was wound very tightly, older Nonyas face gradual hair loss, receding hairlines, and bald spots. By the 1930s, hairpins were no longer relevant to the younger Nonyas who cut their hair according to the latest Western fashions.
