The silver epergne with the mark of Henry Mathews, a maker from Birmingham, England, belonged to a Peranakan family in Singapore. Its form, with one fixed and three detachable trumpets, is similar to the glass epergnes that were also used in Peranakan households to hold items such as bunga rampai (flower potpourri).Items such as these illustrate the increasingly Westernised lifestyles of the Chinese Peranakan community during the 20th century and would have complemented other tabletop items of European origin, such as English transferware dinner services.
