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Zoomorphic Brass Water Bottle (Kendi)

This spectacular example of Malay brassware is designed to hold and pour drinking water.

Cast using the lost wax process, it features repeated stylised bamboo shoots (

pucuk rebung) filled with floral motifs and various other borders of flowers and geometric designs. It has a plump body with four zoomorphic feet, a bird-like head which emits water from the slightly open beak when poured, and a feather-like tail.

Water is poured into the vessel via the central stem which has an aperature at the top. The top of the body of the vessel is beautifully cast with

pucuk rebung motifs arrayed as an elongated star around the square platform that supports the central stem.Pucuk rebung motifs are an identifying characteristic of Malay brassware. They are also commonly used in Malay textile design and woodwork.

Related examples are in the collections of the National Museum of Singapore and the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM). The top of the base of the IAMM example is cast with two bands of floral motifs and not the more elaborate

pucuk rebung array as is the case in this example.

Water containers and kendis with similar motifs appear in Singh, B., Malay Brassware, National Museum of Singapore, 1985, p. 24, and Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, The Message and the Monsoon: Islamic Art of Southeast Asia, IAMM Publications, 2005, p. 203.