Chapter specific Artifacts

1) Replica of Javanese style gold armlet found at Fort Canning Hill in 1928.Date of origin: 14th CenturyPlace of origin: Fort Canning Hill or Bukit Larangan (Forbidden Hill), SingaporeDate of Excavation: 1928

14th Century, Singapore Armlet length: 24.6cm Rings diameter: 1.95cm

Majapahit Javanese style solid gold ornaments excavated at Fort Canning Hill in 1928 while 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 1819http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/Page.aspx?id=45

2) Replica of lead Javanese style statue Date of origin: 15th CenturyPlace of origin: Empress Place Date of excavation:

14th Century Singapore

Javanese style small statue found at Empress Place archaeological site in 1990s. Dubbed the “Headless Horseman” by Dr. John Miksic, the rider is wearing what appears to be a sarong around his lower body and sits on either a winged horse or a horse with a winged saddle. Analysis revealed it is made of lead, which makes it the only ancient lead statue ever found in the whole of Southeast Asia. Various theories have been put forward for the purpose of this statue, including a depiction of an ancestor of the rulers of Temasek who in the Sejarah Melayu (The Malay Annals) emerged from the ocean on a winged sea-horsehttp://www.worldoftemasek.com/index.php/article/archaeology

3) Replica of Indian glass beads and Yuan Dynasty coins found at Fort Canning Hill in 1984Date of origin: 14th CenturyPlace of Origin: Fort Canning Hill, SingaporeDate of Excavation: 1984

14th Century, Singapore Indian glass beads excavated at Fort Canning Hill in 1984. Among other itmes found were hundreds of Chinese copper coins dating back to the Song dynasty, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai ceramics, carnelian beads from India, copper and iron remains

from the forges of local metal smiths and a carved stone human head. This archaeological evidence helps us piece together the story of the ancient kingdom of Temasek. http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/Page.aspx?id=45

4) Spices of the 14th Century – Cloves and nutmagsPlace of origin: The Spice Islands, Cloves Maluku Islands

5) The Beilutung Wreck PosterDate of origin: 830 ADPlace of origin: Muscat, OmanDate of Excavation : 1998

The earliest shipwreck found in Southeast Asia was an Arabian dhow which sailed a route from Africa to China around 830 AD but sank off the coast of Belitung Island, Indonesia and it is housed in the Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium on Sentosa

60,000 Tang dynasty artifacts worth $32 million were found. It was largest single collection of Tang Dynasty artifacts every found in a single place.

The Jewel of Muscat, a replica of the Belitung shipwreck was built using traditional construction methods without the use of nails and pegs and then sailed to Singapore using traditional navigation methods to be displayed at the Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium on Sentosa.http://app.mfa.gov.sg/data/2006/upload/images/2421020100531113958.jpg

6) Letters of Raffles to FarquharDate of origin: 1823Place of origin: Singapore

(Sample)Note: Transcriptions of text to be included on reverse side in similar stylized formatNational Archives of Singapore Description: Raffles: Letters to Singapore (Farquhar) - L19 Period: May - Dec 1823 Language: English Microfilm Number: NL 59

7) Map of Singapore and the Straits of MalaccaDate of origin: 1755Place of origin: Paris

http://www.swaen.com/antique-map-of.php?id=5138

Published by BELLIN,J.N. in Paris, 1755 and and titled “Carte Réduite duite des Detroits de Malaca, Sincapour, et du gouverneur” this map was one of the first maps of the Straits of Malacca. It was coloured and measures.55.3 x 89.5 cm.

It featured the Malay Peninsula from north of Selangor to Pulau Tioman with adjacent coast of Sumatra and the islands southwards to the Riau-Lingga Archipelago complete with lLatitude and longitude scales. It also had recommended tracks through the straits. Inset with number of small coast views.

The outline for Singapore is very distorted, an unusual pair of islands being shown in the old Straits to the north of present-day Singapore Island. Coastal profiles fill the upper centre of the chart.

Singapore National Archives

Accession Number HC009739