Baba Nyonya Tiles in George Town, Penang

The Peranakan, as locally known, rose to social prominence and enjoyed significant economic clout during the British colonial rule in Malaya (now Malaysia). In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the wealthy amongst them were able to furnish their homes with imported ornamental tiles. The state of Penang has many heritage buildings that boast of such, and they can be found in the vicinity of George Town. Tiles in these shophouses and town houses at the George Town locality, which is gazetted under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site, possess unique patterns and are duly called Peranakan tiles. Their motifs were based on flora and fauna or geometric elements of the pertinent era. These pieces were beautiful with eye-catching colours, thus making an appreciative sight in these buildings. The objective of this research is to study the motifs of the Baba Nyonya element in the tile-paved walkways of the Peranakan shop and town houses. It is fortuitous that these Peranakan tiles are still being preserved today to highlight the importance and legacy of the Peranakan age in George Town, Penang.