This small censer is engraved decoratively with carvings which depict the lid as a turtle. In Chinese symbolism, turtles signify long life and would be an appropriate motif for the ancestral altar. Incense and ashes would be placed within the body of the turtle and a small hole at the top would allow the smoke of incense to escape.This item is donated by the family of prominent Peranakan, Ong Sam Leong (b. 1857, Singapore – d. 7 February 1918, Singapore). It comes from his ancestral home of Bukit Rose, formerly at 259 Bukit Timah Road. Ong was a well-known successful businessman who made is money in the mining of phosphate on Christmas island, which was historically a territory of colonial Singapore.
