Sources for 14th century Singapore. Hands on handling for students at NUS Museum

1. Sources for NUS Museum
Visit by students

2. Item No. 1
Source Kit Item
Photograph of the Javanese-style statue of a rider on a
horse found at Empress Place Site in 1998.
Location Found: Empress Place
Year: 1300s-1600s
Description
This Javanese-style statue of a rider wears what appears
to be a sarong around his lower body and is sitting on
either a winged horse or a horse with a winged saddle. It
is the only ancient lead statue found in all of Southeast
Asia.
MOE Source Kit: Item No. 14

3. Item No. 2. Earthernware (1)
Source Kit Item:
Photograph of Earthern pottery found in Singapore
made from local clay obtained from inland areas of
Singapore or parts of the Malay Archipelago.
Location Found: St Andrew’s Cathedral, Padang
and Colombo Court.
Also in other archaeological sites.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
Earthernware is made from clay which can be found
in the inland parts of Singapore. Some are part of
huge jars. Others are small and dainty with little
water spouts. Some also have pddle marked
decorations and are of different colour shades.
Some also have burnt marks.
MOE Source Kit: Item No. 11

4. Item No. 3: Earthernware (2)
Source Kit Item:
Photograph of Earthern pottery found in Singapore
made from local clay obtained from inland areas of
Singapore or parts of the Malay Archipelago.
Location Found: St Andrew’s Cathedral, Padang
and Colombo Court.
Also in other archaeological sites.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
Paddle marked decorations are found on some
earthern ware and are of different colour shades.
Some also have burnt marks.
MOE Source Kit: Item No. 11
Sg Paddle-marked and paddle pressed
1300s

5. Item No. 3: Earthern Fine Paste (3)
Source Kit Item:
Photograph of fine paste earthernware pottery
found in Singapore made from local clay obtained
from inland areas of Singapore or parts of the Malay
Archipelago.
Location Found: St Andrew’s Cathedral, Padang
and Colombo Court.
Also in other archaeological sites like Fort
Canning.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
Earthernware is made from clay which can be found
in the inland parts of Singapore. Some are small and
dainty with little water spouts.
MOE Source Kit: Item No. 11

6. Item No. 4: Stoneware (1)
Source Kit Item:
Photographs of mercury jar and other stoneware
shards. Some of them came from Guangdong
province in China and are more durable and made in
kilns.
Location Found: Parliament House Complex,
Old Parliament House (Arts House)
and Empress Place.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
The mercury jars are of irregular shape. Some were
found in heaps and probably discarded. Some
people believe that the jars were used to contain
liquid mercury. It is possible that this liquid mercury
was then used to purify gold.
MOE Source Kit: Item No. 11

7. Item No. 5: Stoneware (2)
Source Kit Item:
Photographs of stoneware jars found at Empress
Place and Fort Canning. It is believed that they were
made in several kilns from Guangdong province in
China and other sites in China.
Location Found: Parliament House Complex,
Old Parliament House (Arts House) and
Empress Place.
Also Fort Canning and other sites in Singapore.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
The stoneware shards of jars are usually plain.
Others have glazes of earth tone (green, brown and
yellow) which may be decorated. Most jars have 4 or
6 lugs on the shoulder of the jar or jarlet. Others
have words and decorations stamped on them.
Some lugs also have molded dragon designs or
flowers. MOE Source Kit: Item No. 11
Fragment of stoneware storage jar
with the word ‘Lim’ inscribed on it,
Empress Place. 2015
Glazed Stoneware jarlet, Empress
Place. 2015
Stoneware shard found at Fort Canning. It has the Chinese
character bao which means treasure. The word is found inside the
borders of what looks like a Bodhi tree leaf (a Buddhist feature).

8. Item No. 6: Green ware/ Celadon
Source Kit Item:
Photographs of Celadon saucer found in Fort Canning.
Greenware was very expensive because the best ones were
made only in Longquan in Zhejiang province found in the
interior of China. Other kilns in Fujian and Guangdong later
produced similar items.
Location Found: High grade celadon was found
on Fort Canning Hill.
Other celadon wares were also found
at Parliament House Complex, Empress Place
and others.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
Green-glazed porcelain was popular throughout Southeast
Asia. They were made into bowls, saucers, plates, jars,
vases and incense burners and vases. The most exquisite
ones had beautiful designs and decorations
MOE Source Kit: Item No. 11
Part of a celadon incense burner found in Empress Place in 2015. It was made from the Longquan
Imperial Kiln in China. Other finds include parts of saucers, bowls, jars and jarlets,.
Celadon saucer with a double-fish design. This pattern was popular during the Song dynasty but
uncommon in 145h century. This item was found on Fort Canning Hill.

9. Item No7: Blue and white compass
Source Kit Item:
Photograph of a Chinese compass found on Fort Canning.
This compass is the only one known in the world was
perhaps used for ships or geomancy. It was also probably
custom-made.
Location Found: Found on Fort Canning Hill.
Other blue and white wares were also found
at Parliament House Complex, Empress Place
and others.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
Blue-and-white glazed porcelain was very popular in
Southeast Asia and made from kaolin clay found mainly in
the Jingdezhen area in Jiangxi province in the mountainous
regions of China. Blue-and whites were made popular
throughout Southeast Asia. They were made into bowls,
drinking cups and jugs. The most exquisite ones had
beautiful designs and decorations MOE Source Kit: Item No. 11
Chinese porcelain compass. This item has the Chinese characters for compass
directions in the center of the bowl and the word ‘suan’ or to calculate.
These blue-and-white items have a horse and goose pattern on them.

10. Item No. 8: White Qingbai pillow
Source Kit Item:
Photograph of fragments of White Qingbai pillow found on
Fort Canning.
Location Found: Found on Fort Canning Hill.
Other blue and white wares were also found
at Parliament House Complex, Empress Place
and others.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
White glazed porcelain was popular in Southeast Asia and
made from Dehua clay. Some of the kilns are found in
Jingdezhen (Jiangxi Provivince).
They were used to make jarlets, wine cups, kendi or spouted
water container. One of the most unique item was the
remains of a White Qingbai pillow.
NUS Museum
The fragments of the pillow on Fort Canning was in
the form of an opera stage. Some of the images
found were foreigner wearing a turban (left) and a
robed monk (right).
Qingbai white-paste pillow found in Beijing Museum. It dates back to the Song
and Yuan dynasties. A shattered one was found on Fort Canning Hill, complete
with actors.
http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7218/7202557884_1ce388c57f.jpg
Other figurines were found
in other archaeological
sites like Empress Place

11. Item No. 9: Chinese bronze coins
Photographs of Chinese bronze coins.
It is believed that some coins were used as a medium of
exchange. Others were recycled into other objects.
Location Found: Parliament House Complex,
Old Parliament House (Arts House) and
Empress Place.
Also found in St Andrew’s Cathedral,
Parliament House Complex and other
Sites.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
There more over 100 coins, mostly from Northern Song
Dynasty found at the Parliament House Site. This suggests
that there could be some kind of trading or marketing
activity that took place at this site. Coins found in other
parts were deformed coins which suggests they were melted
down to make other objects.
MOE Source Kit: Item No. 4
Chinese bronze coins found at Empress Place in 2015.
https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/achong008/2015/10/31/team-6-coins-from-the-temasek-port/

12. Item No. 11: Gold Jewellery
Photograph of Javanese style gold jewellery found on Fort
Canning in 1928. The items found include an armlet, ear
ornaments and a ring with distinctive designs.
Location Found: Found on Fort Canning Hill
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description
The gold armlet depicts the face of a demon known as Kala.
In Hindu mythology, Kala stole the elixir of immortality and
his head symbolizes immortality. Kala heads were popular
decorations in Javanese temples from the 8th to 15th
centuries.
A four-meter tall statue of King Adityawarman from West
Sumatra wears similar ornaments as a belt. Adityawarman is
depicted as a demonic being with destructive impulses. He
holds a skull bowl and sacrificial knife, whilesstanding on a
pile of skulls and a corpse. The kala head is depicted as a belt
girdle.
MOE Source Kit: Item No. 4
Statue of Adityawarman (depicted as Bhairawa Buddha) statue from Padang Roco in West Sumatra, Indonesia
which dates back to the 14th Century. The statue is today located in the National Museum of Indonesia in
Jakarta. The belt girdle also has the image of Kala.

13. Item No. 12: Singapore Stone
Photograph of Singapore Stone fragment in National
museum. Also features drawing of the script made in 1843.
Location Found: Mouth of the Singapore River
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description: The Singapore Stone was once part of a lengthy
text but was blown up by military engineers. The script is
related to that used in Sumatra during that period. It also
contains at least some Sanskrit words.

14. Item No. 13: Gacuk
Photograph of gacuk. This item could be
made from shards of different kinds of
pottery.
Location Found: Empress Place
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description: These are sherds of pottery which are
intentionally chipped and grounded into circular shapes
called gacuk in Javanese. Some were made of porcelain,
while others made of Singaporean earthernware.
The presence of gacuk indicates the presence of Javanese
traders and influence in Singapore. They may have been part
of some game or gambling apparatus.
They were not found in Kota Cina or other sites in Sumatra or
the Malay Peninsula.

15. Item No. 14: Indian glass bangle
Photographs of Indian glass bangles
Location Found: Found at St Andrew’s Cathedral
and Singapore Cricket Club
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description: Part of an Indian glass bangle. At the centre is
light green glass, over which is a layer of yellow glass. A
reddish-brown stripe is on the outer rim and there are dots
of white glass added on as decoration. The design and
chemical content of the bangles show that they are from
northwest India (Gujarat) in the 13tn century.
https://www.archaeology.org/images/ND2017/Letter_From/Letter-From-Singapore-Bangle-Sillo.jpg

16. Item No. 15: Indian Glass Stone Beads
Photographs of Indian bead
Location Found: Found at St Andrew’s Cathedral
and Singapore Cricket Club
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description: These beads are about 1 cm in diameter and
made of a red stone called carnelian. These beads are
irregular and shape and were exported and traded to
Southeast Asia since the late prehistoric period.
About 350 beads similar to those found in Singapore were
reportedly found in a shipwreck off the coast of Brunei which
sank in about 1500.
Such beads are part of more than 10,000 beads (some of
them made of glass) which were found during numerous digs
and indicates a high volume of trade in Singapore.
https://www.archaeology.org/images/ND2017/Letter_From/Letter-From-Singapore-Bead-Sillo.jpg

17. Item No. 16: Glass beads , bangles, blobs and shards
Photograph of glass beads, bangles, fragments of bottles
and
other Chinese-made containers that were found in one
location in Fort Canning Hill.
Location Found: Fort Canning Hill
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description: Glass beads, fragments of bottles and glass
beads and other Chinese-made container were found on
Fort Canning. Chemical analysis shows that the glass was
probably from China.
There were over 12,000 glass beads recovered from the
site and also fragments of dark-blue bangles. Numerous
glass shards were also discovered.
https://roots.sg/Roots/learn/collections/listing/1273995
Glass beads found on Fort Canning. Many of them
are 1 to 2 mm in diameter and come in various
colours. They may have been worn by workers or
used to make other objects like decorated lanterns
or sewn into clothing like the famous Peranakan
beaded slippers
Glass shards, bangle fragments and glass globules on
Fort Canning.. The glass shards may have been recycled
and used by skilled craftsmen to produce various items
such as bangles and beads.
Most of the bangle fragments are dark blue and about 4
mm thick.
Bangle

18. Item No. 16: Iron Objects: Brass and Iron Objects:
Fish hook, lock and key, arrow head
Photograph of fishhook and corroded arrowhead
found at Empress Place. A lock and key set was
found at the Old Parliament House site.
Location Found: Parliament House Complex,
Old Parliament House (Arts House) and
Empress Place.
Year: 1300 – 1400s
Description: Iron artefacts have been found in all
early sites in Singapore. However, due to the
corrosive soil and climate, few items can be
identified. Some of the identifiable artefacts found
include fishing hooks, brass Chinese padlock and
arrow tip.
Others include a Kris blade, axe blade. bell and wires
https://roots.sg/Roots/learn/collections/listing/1273995
Bangle
Fishing hook found at
the Empress Place site
Arrow head found at Empress Place site.
14th century lock and key set found
at the Old Parliament House in
1994.