Chia Yu Chian

079

b. Johor, 1936 - d. 1991
Chia Yu Chian
Clan House
1958
signed and dated ‘Yu Chian 1958 Penang’ (top right)
oil on masonite board
75 x 60cm
Provenance
Private collection, Penang.
Estimate
RM 18,000 – 25,000
Price Realised
RM 27,500

EXHIBITED
Penang, The Art Gallery, Chia Yu Chian Memorial Exhibition, March 1997, illustrated in catalogue.

This work of the Cheah Si Sek Tek Tong, otherwise known as the Cheah Kongsi, is noted for its vibrant mix of colours. Cheah Kongsi is one of the top five clan houses in Penang (the others being Khoo, Yeoh, Limand Tan). This two-storey temple building located on Armenian Street houses the patron saint, Hock Haw Kong. It was the ‘headquarters’ of the Cheah ‘Sinkeh’ (new immigrants) from the Sek Tong Village in China. The clan society was founded by Cheah Yam in 1820, and his wife, Ong Sin Neoh, took over and created a trust body after he died, becoming the only woman to have chaired a Hokkien (Minnan) clan group. This building with ornate dragons on two finial sides of the rooftop was completed in 1873.