This pair of beaded slippers is decorated with a peony motif in the centre and one phoenix on each side. Both the phoenix and peony are auspicious symbols in the Chinese culture. The phoenix is a mythical long tailed bird that symbolises beauty, grace, high virtue, the bride and the Empress, while peonies are symbols of nobility, beauty and good fortune. Beaded slippers, also known as kasut manek, were popular with Peranakans in the early 20th century. The slipper faces were sewn with beads on a frame and then sent to shoemakers to be attached to the leather slipper base. It was a time when Western-style clothing and materials like Europe-imported glass beads were incorporated into Peranakan fashion as an expression of their “modernity”.
