White ground dish with enameled pheasants

Title
White ground dish with enameled pheasants
Year/Period
19th century
Region
China
Material
Dimension
Object size: 3.1 x 15.0 x 15.0 cm
Accession No.
2013-00670
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs Edward Tan in memory of Mr Edward Tan

This white ground enameled saucer with the design of two pheasants dates to the Daoguang (1821-1850) period. It is therefore a predecessor to “nonya ware”, the porcelain that is more often associated with Peranakan taste by the turn of the century. According to descendents, the white pieces were used as part of a larger dining set and on the altar in the house of Tan Kim Seng known as Panglima Prang (c. 1860).This is part of a large group of porcelain that came from Panglima Prang, formerly located on River Valley road in Singapore. Two prominent Peranakans in the Tan family include Tan Kim Seng (1805-1864) and Tan Jiak Kim (1859-1917). Both were highly regarded businessmen, community leaders and philanthropists in their time.