ALLURING • ELEGANT • BEAUTIFUL
The Nyonya Kebaya says it all, without revealing all. It evokes a romance of the past, when Nyonyas stood proud yet demure in sheer silhouttes of wonderfully embroidered voile blouses.
The Nyonya kebaya first appeared in Baba Nyonya culture only at the beginning of the twentieth century. The earliest photos showing wearing kebaya date to the 1920s. The Nyonya kebaya came to be identified with change. As it eclipsed its precursor, the baju panjang, it signalled the emergence of the new Nyonya : modern, feminine and sensual. The rising of hemlines and the groqing decline of modest Victorian fashions in the west, as well as tightening of the silhoutte in the popular Chinese cheongsam in China’s fashionable cities, was paralleled by the emergence of the Nyonya kebaya.
The fabric of the Nyonya kebaya is called “Kasar rubia (Voile)”. Voile is a sheer, light-weight, plain weave fabric, made of highly twisted yarns. Often made of cotton yarns, voile has a distinctive two-ply warp and is slightly heavier than other sheer fabrics. Voiles come in a variety of colours, from plain white to black, and almost every shade of blue, red, pink, green and purple in between.
The early versions features rather simple embroidery work, but later, especially from the 1960s onwards, a more exquisite and intricate embroidery began to emerge. While the early kebayas are hand sewn, the Nyonya kebaya today is embroidered using the sewing machine with flower motives being the favourite theme.
SLEEK • FINE • STUNNING
From the way the kebaya blouses wrapped the bodies of their wearers to the stunning colours and embroidered designs, the Nyonya kebaya is not merely a dress, it is a work of art.
STAMP ISSUE
Issued on 1 December 2014, however it was only officially announced for sale on 2 December 2014 at
Kuala Lumpur World Youth Stamp Exbition 2014 and caught collectors by surprise.
Unlike previous golden looking stamps which were printed from either golden inks or gold foil, this particular stamp is an actual gold-plated.
An issue of 29 November 2013, the miniature sheet featuring a Nyonya Kebaya has won the
UNESCO Award of Excellence for Handicraft 2012. The stamp within the miniature sheet feature a composition of Malaysian fruit, with holes cut on the paper resembling the embroidery.
The design also won the 4th place at
Vienna International Philatelic Exhibition Awards Grand Prix 2013 in Austria.
Golden-coloured double-sided tape on reverse.
This metal stamp is
valid for postage.
Whilst it is valid for postage, due its nature of limited availability and substantial premium face value without genuine postal rate, it is therefore considered philatelic gimmick and meant only for souvenir.
Metal: Copper Plated with 22k-Gold
Weight: 1.46 ± 0.05 g
Dimension: 25 x 35 x 0.1 mm
