This brass four-poster bed with mother-of-pearl inlay is one of a few different styles of beds the Peranakan Chinese used. Brass beds were interesting as they were not often found in traditional Peranakan Chinese families. These were often decorated with embroidered bed hangings and mosquito nets. More often than not, brass beds showed strong colonial influence that some Peranakan families exhibited as a result of their sons given an English education.This brass bed has been in the Tan family for the past 94 years. It belonged to the mother of Mr Louis Tan, who is now in his early eighties. Mr and Mrs Louis Tan come from prominent families in Malacca.
