NHB officers will NEVER ask you to transfer money or disclose bank log-in details over a phone call. Call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 if you are unsure if something is a scam. For more information on how to protect yourself against scams, please visit www.scamshield.gov.sg.

Altar table

Title

Altar table

Year/Period

Late 19th-early 20th century

Region

Singapore

Material

teakwood

Technique

gilding, lacquer, carving

Dimension

Object size: H88.2 x W107.8 x D67.5cm

Accession No.

2005-00045

Collection of

Asian Civilisations Museum

Credit Line

Gift of Rosalind Ong

This gilded teak altar table was used to hold a spirit house which contained ancestral tablets. Ancestral tablets were believed to be a way through which the living may communicate with the deceased ancestors in the after world. Traditionally, the ancestral altar is only one of the three altars in a Perankan home. The other two altars were dedicated to the guardian deity of the house and the Kitchen God.