Let us take a close look at the following historical artefacts selected from the rich diversity of artefacts in the National Museum collection.

The Xin Sai Le Puppet StageMid 20th CenturyNational Museum of Singapore CollectionResearch and captions by the National Museum of Singapore

Chinese puppet shows were a popular form of street entertainment for the masses of immigrant workers in Singapore from the 19th to the early 20th century. This Fujian glove puppet theatre stage is the most spectacular item in the Museum’s Chinese puppetry collection. The stage belonged to the Xin Sai Le (新赛乐), a Fujian troupe that came to Singapore in the 1930s from South China. The stage is lit by more than 1,000 light bulbs and measures a grand 440 centimetres in width and 190 centimetres in height. The whole theatre could be dismantled or assembled within an hour by the troupe. Purchased in 1984, the collection comes with 45 puppets, 96 costumes, 56 hats, 24 pieces of backdrops and accessories, as well as 20 pieces of props. These can be kept in two wooden chests.

Silver Opium PipeLate 19th CenturyNational Museum of Singapore CollectionResearch and captions by the National Museum of Singapore

The first opium farm opened in Singapore in 1821. British-run opium houses in Malaya supplied opium in small lead tubes. They also sold small portions of dross for those who could not afford opium. When smoked, dross is particularly toxic for the liver. Studies of Singapore history – for example, that of rickshaw pullers – expose the daily use of opium to ease the physical pains of rickshaw pulling, and as a main source of entertainment. Much of the labour force in colonial Singapore was dependent on it – rickshaw pullers, miners and coolie labourers.

1965 Pilot Capless Fountain Pen1960sPhotograph courtesy of Pilot Pen Singapore Private LimitedCaptions by Pilot Pen Singapore Private Limited

Students started using fountain pens when they reached Standard III (10 years old) in the early days. Fountain pens and pencils replaced dip pens which required refilling from inkwell. In 1963, Pilot succeeded in producing a masterpiece of engineering with the first capless pen. It has a unique mechanism which enables the nib to retract into the fountain pen with no ink leakage.

Gold Ornaments from the Sacred Hill14th CenturyNational Museum of Singapore CollectionResearch and captions by the National Museum of Singapore

Javanese style of these solid gold ornaments is a reminder that in the 14th century, the island of Singapore was under the political and cultural influence of the kingdom of Majapahit. The armlet bears the motif of the Javanese kala, which can be found over the entrances of many old temples in Indonesia. The rings are set with diamonds. These were found at Fort Canning Hill in 1928 by labourers excavating for a reservoir. The site engineer recorded that the ornaments were lying just beneath the top of the pre-colonial soil strata, indicating their existence before the British arrived in 1819.

Teakwood Vanity Box1920sNational Museum of Singapore Collection Research and captions by the National Museum of Singapore

This vanity box is made of teak-wood with mother-of-pearl inlay. It has a mirror that folds under the lid. The drawers hidden behind the swing doors hold cosmetics such as lipstick, comb, rouge powder and jewellery. Such boxes were favoured by affluent Peranakan Chinese women who bought them both for practical use and as collectibles. They were imported and sold in department stores such as John Little & Co and Robinson’s.

Photo pending

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Kueh Tutu (steamed rice cakes with coconut or peanut filling) Tricycle Cart1960sNational Museum of Singapore CollectionResearch and captions by the National Museum of Singapore

This cart plied the streets of Singapore from the 1960s, supplying freshly hand-made kueh tutu. The owner, Mr Tan Chin Kim was licensed to be an itinerant hawker on 20 March 1957 by the Singapore City Council. It is the only one of its kind left in Singapore, having survived the series of restrictions imposed on street hawkers by the Singapore government since the 1950s. By 1986, all street hawkers were relocated to permanent premises. The making of this savoury snack requires great skill and is largely a lost art in contemporary Singapore. A highlight of the food gallery, this cart is representative of our street food heritage – made up of richly textured histories and stories of hardship, aspirations, cross-cultural influences, inter-ethnic interactions, generational succession, entrepreneurship and encounters with regulatory authorities.