This is a pair of covered slippers with a beaded rose design. The slippers are a typical example of kasut manek - literally meaning “shoe beads” - or Peranakan beaded slippers. The Peranakans, or Straits-born Chinese, were descendants of 15th and 16th century Chinese immigrants who settled down and married the locals in the Malay archipelago. Peranakan women, known as nyonyas, were greatly skilled at embroidery and produced intricately-woven beadwork designs. Kasut manek were worn by the nyonyas to complete their traditional outfit, and were especially popular in the 1930s. On this pair of slippers, the weaving of the beaded design creates a vibrant mosaic in bright colours. The slippers were probably worn for celebratory events like the Chinese New Year.
