Although silver does not occur naturally in the Malay Peninsula, silver bars, ingots and coins imported by foreign traders from China were at times commissioned by Malay royalty and aristocrats to be melted down in order to produce silverware. By the fourteenth century, when the Sultanate of Melaka was at its height, silver became a symbol of the wealth, position and power of Malay royalty and aristocracy who acted as patrons to local silversmiths.

This particular silver dish was the property of a person of high status, probably that of Tengku Long, or Sultan Hussein Shah himself, who signed the 1819 Treaty. Although dated to the 19th century, the vegetal motifs are in keeping with Malay art that is shared within the region.

Reproduction based on the collection of Asian Civilisations Museum.