malay silverware

MALAY
SILVERWARE
RAIMY CHÉ-ROSS
1
Portrait of Henry Ling Roth (1855–1925). Original slide
photograph by John Watt Beattie (1859–1930). From the
Lantern-Slide Collection of James Backhouse Walker
(1841–1899). Image courtesy of the University of Tasmania
Library, Special and Rare Materials Collection, Australia
2 Front cover to the first edition of Ling Roth’s pioneering
work on Malay silverware, Oriental Silverwork: Malay
and Chinese (1910). Private collection
3 Dulang inscribed with the name of Tengku Khadijah binti Seri
Maharaja Sultan Abdul Jalil, Riau-Lingga, dated by inscription
1715 AD, diameter 80 cm, silver. IAMM 2004.11.35. Image
courtesy of the Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia
4 Typical Malay Dulang, but featuring the unusual addition
of a lobed cavetto around its flat bowl. Malay Peninsula,
circa 1900, coin-silver. Private collection
5 Oval Dulang featuring an emblem often found on Malay
silverware from the Johor Darul Takzim, Singapore or
Riau-Lingga area, a drawn Keris (kris) crossed over its
scabbard, circa 1900, silver-alloy. Private collection
6 Detail of the central medallion from (4),
showing a clear version of a popular Biku
Gunungan border often found on Malay
silverware. Private collection
7 Kerikal, Johor Darul Takzim or Singapore, circa 1900,
diameter 30 cm, silver, chased, repoussé. Private collection
9 Side profile of the Cembul in (8). Private collection
8 Cembul, Johor Darul Takzim or Singapore, late 19th century,
silver. Private collection
11
10 Cembul from Kota Lama Kiri, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malay
Peninsula, circa 1900, 7 x 9 cm, silver. NHB Collections 06472.
Image © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
Cembul collected
in Pahang Darul
Makmur, Malay
Peninsula, circa
1900, silver. NHB
Collections 06367.
Image © Asian
Civilisations
Museum,
Singapore
12 Batil Bertudung, Johor Darul Takzim, Singapore or Riau-Lingga,
late 19th century, coin-silver. Private collection
13 Detail of the intricately designed cover of the
Batil Bertudung in (12). Private collection
14 Pair of finger-bowl Batil from a complete set of
six, Malay Peninsula, late 19th century, silver alloy.
Private collection
15 Drinking-cup Batil, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malay
Peninsula, late 19th century, 5.5 x 11.5 cm,
silver alloy. Private collection
16 Small Ceper used as a saucer or a lid for a Gelok in a
Terenang set, Johor Darul Takzim or Riau-Lingga, circa
1900, silver alloy. Private collection
17 Gelok, Pahang Darul Makmur, circa 18th–19th century,
17 x 23 cm, silver. NHB Collections 06593. Image © Asian
Civilisations Museum, Singapore
18 Mangkuk Jerelok, Johor Darul Takzim, Singapore or
Riau-Lingga, circa 1900, silver. Private collection
19 Mangkuk Jerelok, Johor Darul Takzim, Singapore or
Riau-Lingga, circa 1900, silver. Private collection
20 Detail of the emblem on the base of the Mangkuk
Jerelok in (19). Private collection
21 Timba Bersiram, one of a pair. Brunei Darussalam, early 20th
century, 13.9 x 25.5 cm, silver. NGA 2008.214.1. Image
courtesy of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
22
Malay Bridal Display at the State of Johore Pavilion,
The Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island,
San Francisco (1939–1940). The mannequins are bedecked
in the wedding raiment of a 19th century royal bridal couple
from Johor and Riau-Lingga. Image courtesy of Azah Aziz
23 Ketur, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malay Peninsula, 19th century,
12.6 x 21.3 cm, silver. NGA 2007.423. Image courtesy of
the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
24
Detail from a group portrait of His Highness Seri Paduka
Baginda Sultan Sir Ahmad al-Mu’adzam Syah of Pahang
Darul Makmur (born 1836, reigned 1863–1914) and his
retinue, with a Ketur bearer seated in the right foreground.
Original photograph probably taken during the second Grand
Durbar of the Malay Rulers (1903) at Kuala Lumpur, Selangor
Darul Ehsan, Federated Malay States. From a contemporary
carte-de-visite. Private collection
25
Harlequin pair of Muka Bantal, circa 1900, collected from
Pekan, Pahang Darul Makmur, Malay Peninsula, 27 x 15.5 cm,
silver and silver-gilt. NHB Collections 06632. Image © Asian
Civilisations Museum, Singapore
26
Straits-Chinese Peranakan Muka Bantal made
for the Malay market, with auspicious Buddhist
symbols surrounding the Muslim crescent and
star, circa 1900, silver-gilt. Private collection
27
Straits-Chinese Peranakan belt-buckle made for
the Malay market. Malay Archipelago, circa 1900,
1.5 x 10.5 x 7.4 cm, silver-gilt. NHB Collections
2002-00434-002. Gift of Mr Edmond Chin.
Image © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
28
Pending, Perak Darul Ridzuan, circa 1900, silver. Originally
presented in 1926 to the New South Wales Collection of
Applied Art by Francis James Benton (1876–1936). The
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 1926/32A. Photograph
by Jean-Francois Lanzarone. Image courtesy of the
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
29
Pending, Perak Darul Ridzuan, circa 1900, silver. Originally
presented in 1926 to the New South Wales Collection of Applied
Art by Francis James Benton (1876–1936). The Powerhouse
Museum, Sydney, 1926/35A. Photograph by Chris Brothers.
Image courtesy of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
30
31
Illustration by the ethnographer, Ivor Hugh Norman
Evans (1886–1957), discussing the transformation of
the floral designs on the spandrels of Pending into
stylised butterflies. Compare the Pending drawn
here (bottom) with the Pending shown in (29)
Group of Chutam Pending, southern Thailand or the Malay
Peninsula, circa 1900, silver, brass, niello, gilt. Originally
presented in 1926 to the New South Wales Collection of
Applied Art by Francis James Benton (1876–1936). The
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 00217806. Photograph
by Jean-Francois Lanzarone. Image courtesy of the
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
32 Ceper, Malay Peninsula, circa 1900, 1.7 x 16 cm.
NHB Collections 06529. Image © Asian Civilisations
Museum, Singapore
33
Mangkuk Jerelok, Sumatra, circa 1900, silver, 6.5 x 17 cm.
Originally acquired by the Raffles Museum, Singapore, in 1938,
from Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884-1964). NHBCollections
06574. Image © Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
34
Detail of the Dulang in (3), showing
a royal insignia and an ownership
inscription dated 1127 AH
corresponding to 1715 AD.
Accession No. 2004.11.35.
Image courtesy of the Islamic
Arts Museum of Malaysia
35
Impression of a Cap Mohor di-Raja (Royal
Seal) of Dato’ Bendahara Seri Maharaja
Tun Wan Mutahir ibni Dato’ Bendahara
Siwa’ Raja Tun Wan Ali of Pahang Darul
Makmur (reigned 1857–1861, died 1863).
Dated 1276 AH corresponding to 1859–
1860 AD. ANM SP 6/41(29). Image
courtesy of the Arkib Negara Malaysia
36
Impression of another Cap Mohor
di-Raja (Royal Seal) belonging to Dato’
Bendahara Seri Maharaja Tun Wan
Mutahir ibni Dato’ Bendahara Siwa’ Raja
Tun Wan Ali of Pahang Darul Makmur
(reigned 1857-1861, died 1863). Dated
1257 AH corresponding to 1841-42 AD.
ANM SP 6/36(55). Image courtesy of
the Arkib Negara Malaysia
37–39
Cap-Cap Mohor di-Raja (Royal Seals) of Sultan
Sir Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah (1895–1942),
Sultan of Terengganu XIII, with the silver
matrices of all three seals shown in reverse.
Image courtesy of the Unit Sumber Media,
Muzium Negara, Jabatan Muzium Malaysia
37
38
39
40 Cap Mohor di-Raja (Royal Seal) belonging
to Sultan Sir Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah
(1895–1942), Sultan of Terengganu XIII,
with the seal matrix shown in obverse.
Image courtesy of the Unit Sumber Media,
Muzium Negara, Jabatan Muzium Malaysia