Straits Chinese Chupu

Large Straits Chinese Chupu

China for the Straits Settlements

This kat mau (as these covered vases are known in Singapore, or cepu or chupu as they are known in Malacca, or himcheng as they were called in Penang) is unusually large.

The polychrome decoration is smooth and the gilding to the rims is largely intact. There is a small chip to the inside rim of the bowl, and a barely perceptible hairline also to the base, but otherwise the piece is in good condition.

The body and cover are decorated with bright enamels. Pink-ground panels within lime-green borders each are decorated with a phoenix in flight over pink peonies, all against a green ground embellished with more pink peonies. The top of the base and bottom of the cover have pink borders decorated with ribbons and Buddhistic/Taoist symbols. The base of the

chupu has a border of pink and green lappets separated by blue ribs. The cover is topped with a pink handle or pull. The edges of this, the cover and the base are finished with gilt.

The base has an indistinct factory mark in red enamel.

Chupu vases had no definitive use but usually were part of the large wedding sets that the Straits Chinese commissioned from China. Possibly, they were used to serve bird’s nest soup or glutinous rice balls in syrup – delicacies that by tradition signified marital bliss and prosperity.