This brass vase contains several spades and tongs. The vase is engraved with flowers and the faces of phoenixes on its side. The spades are used to scoop ashes and incense into censers and burners and the tongs are used to remove old incense buds.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.
