This is the wedding portrait of a Peranakan (Straits Chinese) couple, Mary Seow Kee Neo and Koh Beng Kay, taken in 1931. The photograph shows the couple wearing elaborate Chinese wedding costumes. Though the Peranakans followed Chinese traditions and practised them elaborately, the Babas (males), in particular, were anglicised and adopted Western lifestyles. This was reflected in their consumption habits, as many imported lifestyle products from the West.This wedding portrait belonged to a Peranakan household at Dublin Road, which was headed by Mr. Koh Beng Swee, a third generation Peranakan. The donor, Dr. Angeline Khoo, is the daughter of Mr. Koh Beng Swee. Born in 1924 at Chin Swee Road, Koh Beng Swee was a Hokkien Peranakan. He was enrolled in the Anglo-Chinese School from 1931 to 1941. Koh Beng Swee worked as an architectural draughtsman in the Architectural Department of the City Council in 1950. He was then transferred to the Engineering/Design Branch of the Public Works Department. He was part of the team that designed the National Library at Bras Basah.
