Not having English language hallmarks, the belt was tested with an X-Ray machine and came up as low grade, approx .650 Silver purity. It does have a set of Chinese hallmarks to the rear though but was unable to decipher / translate. If the hallmarks could be translated it would give a clearer indication as to its age, exact purity and possibly a maker. It weighs 153 grams and is 90cms long x 3cms wide. In very nice used condition.
While the exact origins of the Peranakans are hard to pin down, many scholars and writers believe them to be descendents of Chinese immigrant traders who married local Malay women or Bataks from Sumatra.
The Peranakans were also known as Straits Chinese as they were usually born in the British-controlled Straits Settlements of Singapore, Penang and Malacca. During colonial times, they were also known as the King’s Chinese in reference to their status as British subjects after the Straits Settlements became a Crown colony in 1867.
The term Peranakan is an Indonesian/Malay word that means “local born” and has largely been used to refer to the Peranakan Chinese. However, not all Peranakans are of Chinese ancestry. In the Straits Settlements, there was a small but significant community of Peranakan Indians known as Chitty Melaka. The origins of the Peranakan Indians were said to have evolved around the same time as the Peranakan Chinese when Tamil merchants began marrying local women. The Jawi Peranahan community was another notable Peranakan group of non-Chinese descent comprising Straits-born Muslims of mixed Indian (especially Tamil) and Malay parentage.
Although many Peranakans retained their Chinese surnames and cultural practices such as ancestor worship, they were still considered as a different group from the China-born Chinese in Singapore. The Peranakans were also generally from a higher socio-economic class than most Chinese immigrants. The Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II hit the wealthy Peranakans hard and thereafter many of them failed to recover their former wealth or resume their previously lavish lifestyles. The post-war years thus marked the beginning of the decline of Peranakan culture.
In recent years, however, there has been a resurgent interest in Peranakan culture sparked by the highly popular television drama series, The Little Nyonya (2008), as well as the growing popularity of Peranakan cuisine.
