ms, Muzium Peranakan
ta, பெரனாகன் அருங்காட்சியகம்
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Old Tao Nan School
The Old Tao Nan School () is a historic building in Singapore, located along Armenian Street in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area. The building was originally built for the Tao Nan School to serve the local Hokkien community, ...
39
Armenian Street,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
179941
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Peranakan
The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, ...
heritage
Heritage may refer to:
History and society
* A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today
** Cultural heritage is created by humans
** Natural heritage is not
* Heritage language
Biology
* Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...
of Singapore
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National Heritage Board
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City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
Bras Basah
Bras Basah (, ta, பிராஸ்) is a district located in the Museum Planning Area of the Central Area of Singapore. Bras Basah ( Modern Spelling: Beras Basah) means "wet rice" in Malay – ''beras'' means harvested rice with husk removed, ...
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The Peranakan Museum is a museum and gallery in the
Museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...
district of Singapore that specialises in the country's
Peranakan
The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, ...
culture. It is the sister museum of the
Asian Civilisations Museum.
Conceived in 2006, it is the only museum of its kind in the world, exploring the history of Peranakan cultures in Singapore as well as other Peranakan communities in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
.
It is housed at the
Old Tao Nan School
The Old Tao Nan School () is a historic building in Singapore, located along Armenian Street in the Museum Planning Area, within the Central Area. The building was originally built for the Tao Nan School to serve the local Hokkien community, ...
building on Armenian Street, which once served as an extended wing to the artefact collection of the
Asian Civilisations Museum.
History
On 1 January 2006, the museum, then known as ''ACM 1''
closed the Armenian Street wing for a major revamp. At its closure, the museum management chose
Peranakan
The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, ...
culture theme over a children's museum and a Chinese ceramic museum as their new showcase in the Tao Nan School space. This enabled the museum to house the world's most distinctive and comprehensive Peranakan museum collection of artifacts and wares, with a potential annual visitorship numbers of 112,000 people.
Furthemore, the revamp enabled 25 per cent more exhibition space for contextual displays for different aspects of Peranakan home and lifestyle. It also includes plans for Peranakan-themed eateries and shops in the row of four shop-houses adjacent to its building.
The museum officially opened on 25 April 2008, with ten permanent galleries showcasing main themes of Peranakan life. A central feature of the museum is the Peranakan Wedding Bed which once belonged to Mrs. Quah Hong Chiam of Penang, and the very bed where she gave birth to the first seven of her 11 children.
On 1 April 2019, the museum was closed for renovations works, which is expected to be completed by 2022.
Galleries
The different galleries are found in the following manner:
* Gallery 1 (Level 1)
* Galleries 2 – 5 (Level 2)
* Galleries 6 – 10 (Level 3)
* Special Exhibitions Galleries (Level 3)
Gallery 1 is titled ''Origins'', and provides an introduction to Peranakan culture and to various Peranakan communities in Singapore, Malacca, Penang and Southeast Asia. Visitors to the subsequent rooms will learn about the story of the traditional 12-day Peranakan wedding, where significant ceremonies like the lap chai (exchange of gifts) and chiu thau (coming of age) are presented. Visitors can also see the elaborate wedding chamber and a wedding procession taking place indoors on Level 2.
Gallery 6, tilted ''Nonya'', features the arts and crafts of Nonyas like beadwork, along with a display on the Nonya kebaya, and the womenfolks' role of transmitting cultural values to Peranakan children. Gallery 7 shows ''Religion'', on Peranakans and their faiths. Gallery 8 illustrates the commerce, politics and social affairs of prominent Peranakans in Singapore's history in this exhibition titled ''Public Life.'' Gallery 9 on ''Food and Feasting'', provides a grand banquet setting with the world's best collection of nonya porcelain.
Finally, the visual experience concludes with an introspection of modern Peranakans and how they feel about their heritage and the future of their culture in Gallery 10 (''Conversations''). Additional ''Special Exhibitions Galleries'' also features changing specific-themed exhibitions.
Gallery
Image:peranakanbed.jpg, Peranakan Museum's central piece of display, the Peranakan Wedding Bed. Mrs. Quah gave birth to the first seven of her 11 children on this very bed
Image:Peranakan Museum Singapore.jpg, Father and Kid Statue
Image:Peranakan Museum - www.joyofmuseums.com - interior.jpg, The museum's interior
See also
*
Baba House
*
NUS Museum
References
External links
Official website of the Peranakan Museum
{{Authority control
2008 establishments in Singapore
Asian Civilisations Museum
Ethnic museums in Singapore
Folk museums in Singapore
Museums established in 2008