"The style was basically from early immigrants in China who married into wealthy families," explains Coates, who says the "incredible wealth of art, architecture, and formality that exists in the Peranakan style” is evident in many of the set’s design elements. These include floral and animal ornamentation, decorative inland mother-of-pearl furniture, lacquered chairs, glazed ceramic tiles, louvered shutters (known in the 1800s as “jealousy shutters”), and a William Morris–style wallpaper. The Peranakan style is “a unique combination of Chinese, English, Malaysian, and Victorian," Baseman adds.