This porcelain creamer (a vessel used for holding cream or milk to be served with tea or coffee) is decorated with bold dragon motifs around the body and lid. The tactile and visual qualities of this vessel are achieved through slip trailing and gilding. Porcelain vessels with raised ornamentation featuring dragons are popularly referred to as dragonware. These were produced in Japan for export from the late 19th century onwards, and this creamer would have been made in the post-WWII period based on the style and quality of its decoration. The base of the creamer is stamped with a manufacturer’s mark that includes the words “Eastern China” and “Made in Japan”. This creamer was one of two dragonware vessels that originally belonged to the donor’s grandmother, Mdm Chua Geok Cheng (1904–1985), who had purportedly kept both items as decorative objects in her home.
