This portable case holds a lamp and other implements used in opium smoking. Three compartments inside hold the glass lamp, burner, and small tools. The base of the silver burner is decorated with floral motifs, auspicious symbols, and a Chinese poem. A finely crafted opium lamp case like this – along with elaborate and expensive pipes – show that opium smoking was enjoyed by the highest levels of society.Opium use and abuse has a long, complex, and often sordid history. First used as a medicine in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, by the Ming period it was used recreationally. Chinese courts profited from taxing and trading opium, and later so did the Portuguese and the English East India Company. Opium provided large profits for British colonial interests in Asia, and thus is part of the story of the history of trade in the region. With the wave of Chinese migration to the Straits Settlements during the 19th century, the practice of opium smoking was brought to Singapore. Regular use led to problems with addiction for many.
