This is a plain hairpin. A decorative ornament is to be attached to the looped section of the hairpin. Small hairpins like this would have been decorative and used only in large quantities on the hair of a Peranakan woman. In small numbers, such hairpins would not be as effective at holding a hair bun in place.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.
