Title
Vase
Year/Period
Late 19th century and early 20th century
Region
Malacca
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 45.0 x 17.0 cm,
Object size: 44.3 x 19.0 x 19.0 cm
Object size: 44.3 x 19.0 x 19.0 cm
Accession No.
2025-00757
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of Rapheal Koh in memory of his grandfather Beng Saik Geok
This green vase is decorated with two rose-pink medallions, each containing a phoenix flanked by peony blossoms. In Peranakan art, phoenixes are commonly paired with peonies. Both symbolise honour and prosperity. The vase came from the Beng family home at 98 Banda Hilir in Malacca. Beng Saik Lwi (d. 1949) served as a storekeeper and later comprador for the British trading house Harrisons & Crosfield. Such vases were traditionally arranged on ancestral altar tables as part of a larger group of religious paraphernalia. Flowers were placed in them as offerings to the spirits of the ancestors.