Indonesians in Focus: Rusdy Tjahyadi

According to www.answer.com, Peranakan is any native-born Indonesian of mixed Indonesian and foreign ancestry. The term often refers to Peranakan Chinese, the largest and most important Peranakan group that had formed a stable community by the mid-19th century. They were able to accomplish this in part by adopting the indigenous way of life and the native tongue as Susanna Tjokro explains.

“As with Chinese antiques, the details in Peranakan decorative objects, including furniture, are rich in symbolism,” said Rusdy Tjahyadi, a Peranakan furniture enthusiast and collector.

“For instance,” he continued, “a bat, or pien fu in Chinese, sounds very similar to ‘luck’ in Chinese, and the five bat carvings in furniture symbolize the five blessings from Heaven: longevity, wealth, health, virtue and natural death.”

But this is not written in stone, and Peranakan furniture often display varying numbers of bat carvings.

“No matter the number of bats, this animal always means luck,” said Rusdy, who also collects books on Chinese symbols. Hence, we will see this auspicious animal — an appreciation contrary to the often dark images associated with the bat — in a variety of Peranakan furniture, from tables to cupboards.

According to Rusdy, Peranakan furniture developed from the late 18th century to the early 20th century and it faded into obscurity once Art Nouveau became the vogue.

Rusdy inherited many of the antique Peranakan wooden furniture in his collection from his parents.

“Peranakan” is a term for descendants of both Malays and Indonesians.

Confusingly, Peranakan is also used to describe Chinese-Indonesians — Indonesian nationals of Chinese descent.
Peranakan furniture consists of pieces made locally, as opposed to those imported all the way from China.

Just like traditional Chinese furniture, while Peranakan furniture is often simple in design, they accommodate complicated, rich carvings of figures and abstract curves as well.

“I cannot say which style is more valuable, the simple or the richly carved furniture, as it is a matter of personal taste,” said Rusdy.

Bats, dragons, butterflies, tigers, lions, deer, elephants, various kinds of birds, including the phoenix, and the qilin (Chinese unicorn) are the popular creatures that adorn Peranakan antiques, each with its own meaning.

“Legend has it that a qilin appeared to Confucius’ mother when she was pregnant with him,” said Rusdy.

Confucius, the famous Chinese thinker, also had a role in the life of Peranakan society.

“Every Peranakan couple had a pair of wedding cabinets: one for the bride, the other for the groom. Confucius listed 24 examples of filial children, including a kind-hearted woman who breast-fed her dying mother-in-law and a son who let mosquitoes suck his blood so they would not bother his sleeping parents.

“Each cabinet was carved with 12 images of filial children, so in total, the wedding cabinets held the complete stories of the 24 paragons of filial respect,” Rusdy said, indicating the delicate carvings on his wedding cabinet.

From among his collection, he showed several other pieces, including a three-piece set of wooden altar tables. The tables are arranged according to descending height, with the tallest in the rear.

The tallest table is for God, the middle one for ancestors, while the shortest was used as an offering table where cakes, fruits and other offerings were placed. Although many Peranakans are Christian these days, the early Peranakans kept their ancestral beliefs of Buddhism and Taoism.

Rusdy’s living room is decorated with items from the Peranakan era, including a restored wooden door that leads to his balcony. The functional yet decorative door was appropriated from an old house.

His antique collection also holds a charming pair of old, intricately embroidered slippers with wooden soles that date back to the 19th century. This pair is not as small as the tiny Chinese lotus shoes — which measure between 3 to 4 inches and were worn by women with bound feet — but at 21.5 centimeters, they looked dainty as well.

While antique markets, boutiques and lanes abound in the capital, sometimes it is very difficult for the uninitiated to distinguish between an imitation and genuine antiques. Although it is very rare, antique hunters will occasionally come across exceptional replicas that look like the real thing.

In other cases, an apparently antique-looking piece of furniture, such as a table, chair or cupboard, is actually a new table made from antique wood. Antique wood are often cannibalized, say, from an old house. Furniture of this type are not considered as a genuine antique. Or a restored piece of furniture many not ever have been repaired at all.

To place a value on antiques is a difficult task, for which experience is the best teacher.

“As for the wooden furniture, in order to differentiate the genuine from imitations, we must examine the ‘curves’ carefully, for instance, the curves of the dragon should be smooth, as opposed to angular,” said Rusdy.

He also cautioned wood-be antique shoppers and collectors to use their common sense. For example, chances are that an antique-looking low cabinet sporting a big hole perfectly matching the dimensions of a television is not a genuine antique.

“Teak, mahogany, yellowwood and burl wood were especially popular in making Peranakan furniture,” said Rusdy.

Teak was typically used for chairs, tables and the bodies of cupboards. However, because it is a hard wood, it is very difficult to carve small ornate objects into teak.

Mahogany was especially popular for making furniture with intricate, delicate carvings such as dainty butterflies.
Burl wood, which is valued for its beauty, not strength, was also popular for the twists, swirls and knots in the wood, as well as its distinctive grain.

Peranakan furniture, including drawers, was often enhanced with inlaid decoration with burl wood. This wood, due to its lightness and unique patterns, was considered the appropriate material for drawers, while the light, easily crafted yellowwood was often inlaid into the surface of the drawers.

Rusdy’s collection of antique Peranakan furniture is not for sale, but he welcomes any discussions on antiques in either Bahasa Indonesia or English, particularly Peranakan wooden furniture: It is a chance to work with something he loves, as well as a chance to meet other antique enthusiasts.

Rusdy Tjahyadi can be contacted directly at 0811862267.

Susanna Tjokro, s_tjokro@yahoo.com