Singaporean collector Peter Lee on checks, chintz and multicultural ports
Singaporean collector and scholar Peter Lee discusses his research into Peranakan culture, textiles like the kebaya, and the historical connections between various trading communities in Southeast Asia and India. He emphasizes how multicultural port cities fostered hybrid identities and challenged fixed notions of race and dress.
Why it matters
Lee's work offers insights into the complex, interwoven cultural histories of Southeast Asia and India, challenging simplistic narratives of identity and highlighting the impact of trade on cultural exchange.
Peter Lee is a man who wears many hats. The Singaporean collector, of Peranakan Chinese ancestry, is an independent scholar, researcher and curator. He is also an Indophile who believes that the “love of checks” unites Peranakan and South Indian textile collectors. “My father and grandfather wore what we call Pulicat sarongs at home [which can be traced to the 17th-century port town of Tamil Nadu]. They are so much a part of my memories of everyday life,” says Lee, who was in Karaikudi a few days ago to participate in the annual Chettinad Heritage and Cultural Festival.
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