Page 736 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

operated from. A prominent member of the already established Muslim merchant families in Singapore actually
leased the land to Raffle for the building of what we now know as the eponymous Raffles Hotel.

The highly intricate reticulated “sireh” container with tray top is typical of a high quality traditional silver ritual
object one would expect to find in the Straits territories. It is actually very difficult to view this object rationally -
the object and the object’s use in particular would cause one to automatically think “Peranakan”, but much of
the workmanship and techniques are Chinese. But at closer inspection one can see this is a combination of
filigree and reticulated work [see below] - perhaps the silversmith was so proud of this exacting combination of
techniques that it caused him to create the elaborate and unusual silver mark cartouche. This object, to my
mind, sits at the crossroads of two cultures and in today’s jargon could be termed a “fusion” piece.
But this is what makes both the item and
the silversmith so special.

Images courtesy of Koopman Rare Art, London

Tiang Heng advertisement and sireh container
images courtesy of Dr Lye Wai Choong,
Singapore

http://chinese-export-silver.com
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