This is portable opium case opens to reveal six compartments, holding a glass lamp, a silver burner, a silver container with a sprout, and a pipe. The pipe, made of lacquered bamboo and bone, can be dismantled and stored separately. The wooden pipe bowl is held together by silver mounts.Opium use and abuse has a long, complex, and often sordid history. But finely crafted objects like these show that it was enjoyed by the highest levels of society. First used as a medicine in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, by the Ming period it was used recreationally. Opium provided large profits for British colonial interests – and others – in Asia, and is part of the story of the history of trade in the region. With the wave of Chinese migration to the Southeast Asia during the 19th century, the practice of opium smoking was brought to Singapore. Regular use led to problems with addiction for many.
