The collective Baba Malay term for dining ware is 'pinggan mangkok', which literally means 'plates and bowls'. The dinner service can also include cups, saucers, spoons and spoon rests. Wealthy Peranakan families often commissioned the highest quality porcelain wares for special occasions that would bear their surnames. Teacups are one of the most common items in Straits Chinese porcelain. They would have elaborate decorations of bird and flower motifs, and colourful enamelled backgrounds of green, yellow and rose pink or white like this example.
