Batik Nyonyas Talks
Genteel Nyonya, Mind-Bending Batik: The Unconventional Life and Art of Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing
This talk is free. Registration (with a $10 refundable deposit) is required.
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In the 1930s, Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing produced some of the most exceptional batiks of her career from her workshop in Pekalongan. These include works with a kaleidoscopic combination of colours and unique background filler motifs.
In this talk, Peter Lee examines how an unassuming nyonya became an important Indonesian master of modern colour and design.
About the speaker
Peter Lee is the author of
Sarong Kebaya: Peranakan Fashion in an Interconnected World, 1500–1900 and co-author of
Port Cities: Multicultural Emporiums of Asia, 1500–1900, both published by ACM. He is the Founding Curator of NUS Baba House and host of
The Mark of Empire on CNA.
About the moderator
Alan Chong is an art historian interested in the intersections between cultures which lie outside traditionally formulated structures, including hybridity, complexity, and contested ownership. He has curated exhibitions including
Bellini and the East,
Christianity in Asia: Sacred Art and Visual Splendour,
Port Cities: Multicultural Emporiums of Asia, 1500–1900, and
Gondola Days: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle. He received a PhD from Yale University and has served as director of the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, the Currier Museum, New Hampshire, and as curator of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.
Images from left to right:
Sarong (detail). 1933. Cotton (drawn batik). 2017–00353. Gift of Ika, Melia, and Inge Hendromartono in memory of their parents Liem Siok Hien and Jane Hendromartono, grandmother Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing, and great grandmother Nyonya Oeij Soen King.
Sarong (detail). 1939. Cotton (drawn batik). 2024-00356. Gift of the family of Mr and Mrs Lee Kip Lee.
Sarong (detail). 1941. Cotton (drawn batik). 2025-00025. Gift of Mr Agam Riadi.
Nyonya Oeij Soen King (1871–1950)
This talk is organised in conjunction with
Major Supporter
Thursday, 21 August 2025, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM SGT
Ixora Room
Peranakan Museum
