Antique Straits Chinese Wedding Basket, Fujian, China. Circa 1900. Tiered such as this example made of woven cane and wood and then Lacquered in black and red and gilded were ordered from China’s Fujian Province by Peranakan ( Localised ) Chinese of Southeast Asia including the Peranakan of the Straits Settlements, Phuket, Sumatra, Makasser and Java. The Baskets were used in elaborate Wedding rituals that had evolved in many Peranakan Chinese communities. Among the Peranaken Chinese of the Straits Settlements such baskets were known as bakul siah ( ‘auspicious baskets’ ) and were used to transport wedding gifts during the Twelve-day Wedding, as well as during the engagement, (Bakul means basket in Malay and Siah means auspicious in Hokkien ) Among the Peranakan Chinese of Phuket town on the Thai island of Phuket (who were closely related by Marriage and migration to the Peranakan Chinese of Panang) the Grooms relatives would let off fire crackers and then move the Khanmak ( trays of wedding gifts ) in a procession of the Brides hose, The procession would include musicians playing Chinese horns and gongs , making sounds like ‘tee tor tee cheng’ apparently an idiom for ‘marraige’ in Hokkien. The small wedding gifts such as money, gold and the wedding ring were carried in these Three Tier Baskets. Beautiful piece of History , make a cool Wedding Present.