Straits Settlement famille rose ‘dragon and phoenix’ basin, Sin$89,000 (£52,000) at Hotlotz.
When the Hotlotz online sale of Peranakan & Associated Works of Art closed on September 15, a late 19th century famille rose ‘dragon and phoenix’ basin had taken Sin$89,000 (£52,000).
In recent years the material culture of the Peranakanese or Baba-Nyonya – the descendants of the first waves of Chinese settlers into the ports of the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago – has become a lively market. As a once distinct lifestyle fades into history, the collecting base has broadened in both Malaysia and Singapore.
Straits Settlement porcelain, popularly known as Nyonya ware, was exported to the region from Jingdezhen between 1856 (the beginning of the Tongzhi era) and 1945 (the end of the Second World War). Ostensibly similar to much ‘late’ Chinese porcelain, it assumes distinct colour combinations, motifs and shapes that define the collecting hierarchy.
Popular local forms such as the covered bowl and stand (kamcheng in the Hokkien dialect) and the covered jar (kat may or chupus) decorated in enamel against strong background colours are particularly desirable. While blue and white wares were reserved for everyday food storage and pickling, polychrome ‘festive’ pieces were reserved for auspicious occasions. Often, they were bought as wedding sets, used to bring various types of food and sweetmeats to the bridal room throughout 12 days of wedding celebrations.
Detail of the Straits Settlement famille rose ‘dragon and phoenix’ basin, Sin$89,000 (£52,000) at Hotlotz.
This 16in (41cm) wash basin, decorated with a phoenix and a dragon chasing a flaming pearl and flowering peonies to a pink ground, would have been a specially commissioned piece for use in the wedding chamber.
The exact pair to a basin currently on display at Singapore’s Peranakan Museum, its provenance includes two prominent Baba-Nyonya families. This piece was first owned by the Malay novelist and scholar Syed Sheikh Al-hady (1867-1934) and was acquired from his estate by a member of the Jamalullail family.
Given an estimate of Sin$15,000-25,000, it received 61 bids above its reserve of Sin$12,000. With 30% buyer’s premium the price paid by a Singapore collector was Sin$115,700 (£67,700).
The previous high for Straits Settlement porcelain was a Guangxu (1874-1908) period pink ground kamcheng sold by Hotlotz in January 2023 for Sin$74,000 (£46,000).
