This studio photograph shows a seated nyonya (Peranakan woman) wearing sarong kebaya and a young girl wearing a Western-style dress. Inscribed on the back: Soerabaia den 10 March 1924Photography studios had been established across the Straits Settlements and the Dutch East Indies by the 1860s, with the earliest studios being European owned. Chinese- and Japanese-operated studios began appearing in increasing numbers in the 1890s, and by the early 20th century, these studios almost completely dominated the industry across Southeast Asia.
