The Museum Collection

As we look through the Asian Civilisations Museum's jewellery archives, we find ourselves drawn to two groups of jewellery – jewellery that signify life, and those that mark death. These symbolisms resonate with our experience of fine jewellery as objects intimately intertwined with the stages of life.

Our Inspiration

Object: Comb

Treatment: Decorated by engravings of flowers and leaves, which symbolise fertility and vitality.

Meaning: Engraving of flowers and leaves symbolise vitality and fertility.

Link: Comb (roots.gov.sg)

Object: Bangles

Treatment: The usual yellow gold and diamonds are replaced by more subtle silver and pearls.

Meaning: Worn during the mourning period as a show of respect for the loss of a loved one.

Link: Mourning Jewellery (roots.gov.sg)

Through this collection, we explore the symbolic elements that celebrate the cyclical nature of our existence. Floral carvings symbolise fertility and vitality whilst pearls take the place of diamonds in sombre mourning. These nostalgic touches meld with familiar and contemporary State Property silhouettes, coming together in an old-world-new-world synergy that is both effortless and compelling.