This silver ‘chelpa’ (tobacco container) is a small, lidded box typically used in Southeast Asia by men for carrying tobacco or ‘sireh’ (betel leaves). It is finely worked with repoussé and figured appliqué, and bears a courtly scene, perhaps from Chinese literature. This chelpa is also attached to a finely made hook, which would have been used to hang it from a belt.Chelpa are more common in indigenous communities and they do not appear to have been particularly popular with Peranakan men, especially those in the Straits Settlements. This chelpa is clearly decorated in a typical Chinese style. Many chelpa were made more for decorative, ceremonial wear, rather than practical purposes. By the end of the early 20th century, their use seems to have died out when machine-made cigarettes started becoming more easily available.
