UPDATE: (15 September 2012): With sincere apologies, there is a small mistake in the description for Item 6 “10 Bus Tickets”. There are only seven different courtesy messages. Dr Lai Chee Kien has agreed to work with the winning bidder to either provide 2 different courtesy messages or to come to another arrangement after the auction.

UPDATE (13 September 2012): We have a tenth item up for the Silver Jubilee Silent Auction!

The Singapore Heritage Society celebrates its Silver Jubilee anniversary in 2012. To celebrate twenty-five years of heritage research, education and advocacy, the Society is hosting a dinner at Hotel Re! on 15 September 2012. The highlight of the evening will be a small ceremony honouring the extraordinary contributions of Dr Kwok Kian-Woon and Dr Kevin YL Tan to the Society. More details about the dinner can be found HERE.

As part of the Singapore Heritage Society’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, we are holding a silent auction of rare collectibles and beautiful antiques in the run-up to the Society’s Silver Jubilee Anniversary Dinner on 15 Saturday. All items will be on display during the Dinner. All proceeds will go into supporting the Society’s work in the research, education and advocacy of Singapore’s heritage and history.

If you are interested to bid for these items, please email your name, contact number, bidding price and the auction item number to shs.secretary@gmail.com. Bidding will end 9.30 pm on 15 September (during the Dinner).

ANTIQUES & PAINTING – Mr Khir Johari

Four items have been generously donated to the Society by Mr Khir Johari, a collector and independent researcher on the history and culture of the Malay World.

Item 1: “Kashmiri Bowl” (Minimum Bid: $200.00)

Copper with silver coated Kashmiri bowl. Circa early 20th century. Boteh design. Beautiful patina on the interior. Diameter 18cm, height 12cm.

Item 2: “Summer & Winter” (Minimum Bid (for the pair): $1000.00)

A pair of striking and emotive contemporary paintings, depicting the seasons of Summer and Winter. Each panel 102cm X 51cm. Part of the ‘Grace’ exhibition held in 2010. By Australian artist, Malini Parker. You can find more information about her and her work at her website.

Item 3: “Hsun-ok” (Minimum Bid: $500.00)

Large vintage Burmese lacquerware offering vessel (hsun-ok). Circa 1970s. In Shan state red and lime lacquer. Max. diameter 38cm, height 87cm.

Item 4: “Zoroastrian” (Minimum Bid: $500.00)

Antique Persian tray with Zoroastrian theme featuring Ahura Mazda, the highest Persian deity of Light and Wisdom, and King Darius,  ruler of the Persian Empire at its peak. Heavy copper coated with tin. Much of the outer coated has worn off creating a beautiful effect. Diameter 58cm.

SBS BUS TICKETS – Dr Lai Chee Kien

The following two items are generously donated to the Society by Dr Lai Chee Kien, Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore, and an avid collector. The framed SHS bus tickets are from Dr Lai’s personal collection. They are probably the earliest design style of SBS tickets (circa 1970s), without the logo imprinted across the grid of numbers but with just the letters ‘SBS’ at the base.

Item 5: “6 SBS Tickets” (Minimum Bid: $100.00)

6 SBS bus tickets with values 10 cents, 20 cents, 30 cents, 40 cents, 50 cents and 60 cents.
Frame size: 31 x 22.5 cm. Double-sided glass so both fronts and backs visible.

Item 6: “10 SBS Tickets” (Minimum Bid: $100.00)

10 SBS bus tickets, each of 10 cents value, but with several different “bus courtesy” messages at back. Frame size: 36 x 33 cm. Double-sided glass so both fronts and backs visible.

Royal Selangor Designer Pendants

They were exclusively designed in conjunction with Royal Selangor’s 125th anniversary and to support the Singapore Heritage Society. The pendants are designed by three recognised ‘cultural movers’ of Singapore: David Tay, Dick Lee, and Eunice Olsen, based on the theme ‘Learn from the past, live in the present and dream of the future’. Only 1000 pieces of each design were produced, and one from each designer will be up for auction on 15 September.

Item 7: Pendant – David Tay (Minimum Bid: $90.00)

David I Tay is one of Asia’s leading interior designers and renowned for his modern Eastern design concepts. David ignites a multi-sensorial experience encompassing the five senses – taste, sight, scent, touch and hearing – with the use of spices, forming the inspiration for his design.

Item 8: Pendant – Dick Lee (Minimum Bid: $90.00)

Dick Lee is a a  fashion  design  graduate  of  Harrow  School  of  Art  in  London, and a musician and composer. Dick’s creation captures his interpretation of the essence of sheer determination and grit that is synonymous with the resounding spirit of Singaporeans through the years.

Item 9: Pendant – Eunice Olsen (Minimum Bid: $90.00)

Eunice Olsen is a former Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore and avid volunteer. Eunice expresses her deep appreciation for local talent with a set of piano keys. The black keys symbolising the gathering of self, family and friends and the white keys representing the four core ethnic groups that make up multi-cultural Singapore.

FALL OF SINGAPORE NEWSPAPER – Cherian George and Zuraidah Ibrahim

Item 10: Newspaper (Minimum bid $300)

This item is donated by two journalists from their personal collection of historic newspapers, in honour of their friends, Kwok Kian Woon and Kevin Tan. It is a framed original copy of a newspaper dated 12 February 1942, reporting the Fall of Singapore. The newspaper is The Star of Guernsey, an island in the English Channel that was then under German occupation. The newspaper was used as a mouthpiece of the Nazi occupiers – hence the triumphalist tone in reporting the defeat of the British. The fate of The Star foreshadowed what would happen to the Straits Times in Occupied Singapore. It, too, would be commandeered as a mouthpiece of occupying forces, under the Synonan Shimbun/Times masthead.