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Kim Seng and Company had extensive business dealings with major European trading houses, as this silver epergne, or centrepiece, demonstrates. The object was prominently displayed in the main hall of Panglima Prang.

The object incorporates both European and Chinese designs: a seated Chinese gentleman faces a bare-breasted allegorical woman who holds a shield inscribed: “A gift from the partners of Hamilton Gray & Co., to their old and much esteemed friend, Tan Kim Seng”.

The message is repeated in Chinese on the base: 陳金聲素與含嗎丹吃禮公司行爲友,各伴重其爲人,故以此物奉敬,聊表友愛之誼。On the other side appear the names of the donors: Walter Buchanan M. P., William Hamilton, George Garden Nicol, John Jarvie, George Henderson, Reginald Padday.

Details

  • Title: Epergne
  • Date Created: ca 1860
  • Location: Singapore
  • Credit Line: Collection of the Tan family

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