Beetle shaped hairpin

This gilded silver hairpin with diamonds is in the shape of a beetle. Hairpins like this would have been made for Peranakan women in the Straits Settlements to be worn as part of a wedding headdress. A Peranakan bride would tie her hair into a bun or sanggul and individual hairpins would have been stuck in to create a headdress. This hairpin is part of a set that comes from the collection of the family of prominent philanthropists and businessmen, Tan Kim Seng and Tan Jiak Kim.