Khaw Soo Cheang (1797-1882)

An oval shaped portrait of a man in Chinese clothes. This large group of photographs provides important visual documentation of the fashion, studio photography and lifestyle of Peranakans of the Straits Settlements and Indonesia in the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. The collection also allows study of different photographic techniques and covers a wide range of themes, including changing fashions (from baju panjang and baju kurong to kebaya and cheongsam), festive celebrations (weddings, funerals, ancestral rites, Chinese New Year), interiors, transportation and children.