About 1,000 years ago, Chinese migrants left their homeland to make their fortune. Some of them landed on the shores of the then-Netherlands East Indies, bringing with them sills, customs and textiles that were previously unseen in the archipelago. From inter-ethnic marriages with local women, a distinct Sino-Indonesian culture, referred to as Peranakan, evolved. Textiles from China began to mix with and influence local textiles, design and dress, coming together in a colourful mosaic of patterns and symbols. The butterfly and the phoenix represented two of the most prominent symbols that came to adorn textiles, ranging from altar cloths to wedding dresses. The book showcases the most complete collection of Indonesian Peranakan textile arts and is the first ever to be presented from the Indonesian perspective.
