Wooden "sugar lion" mould

Title

Year/Period

1940s

Region

Singapore

Object Type

worship and altar items, cake molds, hawker and peddler items

Material

wood (plant material), rattan

Technique

woodworking

Dimension

Object size: H9 x W29.5 x D13.5 cm

Accession No.

2006-01418

Collection of

National Museum of Singapore

Credit Line

Gift of SHM old collection

Sugar lion moulds are used to make the cakes that are displayed at the altar table in Teochew and Hokkien ancestral and temple worship. The presence of these cakes invites the lions to their homes to bring blessings of prosperity and well-being. Traditional sugar lions are white while Teochews dye them an auspicious pinkish red. The lions are usually placed with cakes shaped like other auspicious animals like the dragon, phoenix, elephant and pagoda to form the Five Beasts (wushou) which sounds like ‘shou’ that refers to longevity.