Minang kettle (Malay: kendi)

Southeast Asian Collection

Accession Nr.: 67.130.1
Type: object for daily use; metalwork
Date of production:
19th century
Place of production:
Materials/Techniques: brass, cast, chiselled, openwork
Dimensions: height: 21. 2 cm
Brass kettle, with a lotus bud finial on the lid and an open-work fringed sprout. In the Minangkabau culture, this vessel was usually used to store liquid for handwashing, but sometimes also for drinking water. The raised base was necessary because the place of eating was the bare earth.