Purse (back)

Malacca or Singapore, late 19th or early 20th century
Silk velvet embroidered with metal thread, cordonnet, peacock feathers, sequins, metal purl, and glass seed beads; needle-woven edges reinforced with buttonhole bars. Reverse: wool flannel embroidered with silk floss (raised satin stitch) and cut steel beads
Peranakan Museum [G-0873]

Small purses were usually worked in several techniques. The flat metal thread couching produces a brocade-like surface. It is often combined with tekat timbul, a type of raised metal thread embroidery, in a basket-weave pattern. The relief effect, created with padding, mimics the raised patterns in repoussé metalwork (designs hammered from the back).