The Peranakan or Straits-Born Chinese are well-known for the intricacy of the items and accessories which were used in their homes and daily lives, from the batik-patterned sarongs, shirts, and blouses, to the brightly coloured porcelain crockery used in their dining rooms, and the pastel paint-schemes of traditional Peranakan townhouses.
One area of Peranakan craftsmanship which is particularly prized is traditional “Baba Silverware”, as it’s called. The items of metalware used in a Straits-Chinese home which were manufactured by Peranakan silversmiths and goldsmiths in Singapore, Malaya, Indonesia and the southern part of Thailand, in the 1800s and early 1900s.
Peranakan silverware and goldware covered all kinds of areas, from chopsticks to curtain-hooks, belts to keychains, kebaya brooches (“kerongsang”), hairpins (“cucuk sanggul”), jewelry, and even little silver and gold mesh purses. And even something like this…
Peranakan Silver Bolster Plates
In traditional Peranakan marriage-beds, a long tubular pillow with a circular or rectangular cross-section, known as a bolster – or more colloquially as a “Dutch Wife” – was a common feature. They served as shared head-pillows for the husband and wife when in bed, or as a body-pillow when one party of the couple was sleeping alone without the other (hence the ‘wife’ nickname, since it took the place of the absent spouse).
In Peranakan families, bolster pillows, which were so heavily associated with the marriage bed, were often given as gifts to newlyweds upon their wedding days. The idea was that the large bolster stretching across the bed symbolised the joining of two families, and the union of one couple.
As they were intended as wedding-gifts, the bolsters were often adorned with sterling silver decorative end-plates which were sewn onto the small panels at either end of the bolster. These panels might be purely decorative, and carry no further significance, or they might, as in this case, hold extra symbolism connected with a healthful, happy, and hopefully, long-lasting marriage.
The decorations on this particular set of bolster-plates hold rather more significance than mere ornamentation, and are actually meant to be symbolic of longevity (the eternal phoenix), wealth, or prosperity (the peonies) and beauty, purity, and status (the peacock) – all things that one would want in a happy marriage!
What is the Point of Silver Bolster Plates?
…ehm…nothing…really.
And yes, I’m being absolutely serious when I say that.
Absolutely nothing.
These thin, embossed sheets of silver were added to bolsters purely for the sake of decoration. They were not there to protect the fabric, to reinforce the seams, to guard against rubbing or wear…they served exactly NO practical purpose whatsoever! Their only function was decorative – to look nice on the bed, and to embellish the bed-linens of the newlywed couple. Awwww!!
How are they Made?
Made of thin sheets or plates of solid silver, bolster plates came in a variety of shapes. The most common ones are rectangular, circular, or hexagonal or octagonal. They’re either left as plain silver, or are further embellished with gilding.
Once the design has been traced on the silver plates, then it’s the job of the silversmith to work it into the metal. In most cases, this was done through what the French call “repousse” – literally pressing-out the design from the back, to the front of the piece, using a punch and hammer to work the silver into shape. It’s a very slow, delicate, fiddly task, that requires the metal to be annealed and cooled several times to deal with work-hardening, when the metal becomes brittle from too much pounding.
Once the design had been finalised and hammered out into the silver, the final step was to punch the holes all around the borders of the two plates, one for each side of the bolster. The holes are, of course, to pass the needle and thread through, so that the plates can be sewn onto the ends of the bolster.
Where Did They Come From?
This set of plates was purchased from a dealer at the local flea-market who sold all kinds of Asian antiques. I recognised the pieces at once for what they were, and asked about their history. They were originally from Georgetown, in Penang, off the west coast of Malaysia, which only doubly-confirmed that I knew what they were. This makes a lot of sense – Penang was a big Peranakan stronghold back in the day with a vibrant community – so things like silver bolster plates would definitely be found there.
Displaying the Bolster Plates
After I got the two silver plates home – which was done very delicately, I might add – then I had to figure out how to display them. First step was to straighten them out, make sure they were flat and even, and then to polish them – not too much – but enough to lift the surface tarnish and give the silver crisp, lustrous glow.
Once that was done, the final step was to find some way of both displaying them and protecting them in a practical manner. In the end, I settled on just simply framing the plates inside a standard, glass-fronted picture-frame – once I found one which was of a suitable size, of course. I centered them as best I could, and because I didn’t want to potentially damage them any further, I left it up to friction (and there’s plenty of that!) to hold the plates in place, inside the frame.
And you can see the results below:
